Phytelephas

Phytelephas is a genus of South American palms whose exceptionally hard seeds are called tagua or vegetable ivory. The seeds are carved and shaped as an animal-free substitute for ivory.

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Arecaceae: Arecaceae is the botanical family of palms, a diverse group of flowering plants found mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. Phytelephas belongs to this family of palms.
Seed development: Seed development is the process by which a fertilized plant ovule grows into a mature seed. Tagua’s hard interior forms as its seeds mature.
Vegetable ivory: Vegetable ivory is hard plant material used as an animal-free substitute for animal ivory. Tagua from Phytelephas is the best-known source of vegetable ivory.
Ecuador: Ecuador is a country on the northwestern coast of South America, crossed by the equator. Its western forests are a major source of commercially harvested tagua.
Phytelephas aequatorialis: Phytelephas aequatorialis is a species of tagua palm native to western Ecuador. This species is a major source of tagua seeds used in Ecuadorian craft and trade.
Endosperm development: Endosperm development is the formation and maturation of the nutritive tissue inside a flowering-plant seed. In Phytelephas, this tissue becomes the dense material harvested as vegetable ivory.
Button: A button is a small fastener, often sewn onto clothing and passed through a buttonhole. Tagua became widely used to manufacture buttons before synthetic plastics displaced much of its market.
Amazon rainforest: The Amazon rainforest is a vast tropical forest basin spanning several countries in South America. Some Phytelephas species grow in the Amazonian region.
Tagua: Tagua is the hard, ivory-like seed material produced by palms in the genus Phytelephas. The genus is best known through the seeds that carry this name.
Cellulose: Cellulose is a structural carbohydrate that forms the primary component of plant cell walls. Cell walls contribute to the dense, durable structure of mature tagua endosperm.