Aleurites moluccanus, the candlenut, is a flowering tree in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, also known as candleberry, Indian walnut, kemiri, varnish tree, nuez de la India, buah keras, godou, kukui nut tree, and Kekuna tree.
The candlenut grows to a height of up to 30 m (98 ft), with wide spreading or pendulous branches. The leaves are pale green, simple, and ovate or heart-shaped on mature shoots, but may be three-, five-, or seven-lobed on saplings.[5] They are up to 20 cm (7.9 in) long and 13 cm (5.1 in) wide and young leaves are densely clothed in rusty or cream stellate hairs. Petioles measure up to 12.5 cm (4.9 in) long and stipules about 5 mm (0.20 in).[6]
Flowers are small—male flowers measure around 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter, female flowers about 9 mm (0.35 in).[6]
The fruit is a drupe about 4–6 cm (1.6–2.4 in) in diameter with one or two lobes; each lobe has a single soft, white, oily, kernel contained within a hard shell which is about 2 cm (0.79 in) in diameter.[5] The kernel is the source of Candlenut oil.[7]
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