Tagua Nut (Vegetable Ivory)

Tagua is the name given to the ripened seed of ivory palms (genus Phytelephas) that grow in the tropical forests of South America. When the nutritive tissue inside the seed dries, it hardens like stone and takes on a matte white, faintly veined surface. This appearance is what earned the material the name "vegetable ivory." In the pipe world, tagua is known less as a bowl material than as one used for ornamentation and shank extensions.

Source and Properties of the Material

The ivory palm is found chiefly in Ecuador, in the rainforests along the western slopes of the Andes. The tree can take up to fifteen years to bear its first fruit; once mature, it goes on bearing fruit for decades. Inside the large, hard-shelled fruit clusters borne by female trees are seeds several centimeters across, arranged in rows. An unripe seed is soft and edible in texture; hardness only emerges over the drying process.

Once dried, the seed becomes too resistant to carve with a knife; working it requires a saw, files, and sandpaper. On the other hand, it lends itself well to cutting, drilling, and polishing to a high gloss; in this respect its behavior on the bench resembles animal ivory. Because dye only penetrates the outer layer, colored pieces show the white core in contrast with the darker surface. Records indicate it became one of the main raw materials for the button industry starting in the 1880s, a use that largely declined as plastic spread.