MIRITI NUT OR ITA PALM NUT.--These are the Indian names of the fruit of a lofty palm tree, the _Mauritia flexuosa_, of the swamps along the Orinoco river, also in wet soils at higher elevations. This giant palm grows to a hight of a hundred and fifty feet, with an immense crown of large, fan-shaped leaves, and just beneath these the fruit appears in a pendulous cluster eight to ten feet long, containing several bushels, weighing, altogether, from one to three hundred pounds. The individual nuts are about the size of an ordinary apple, with a very smooth shell, somewhat veined or streaked. The natives of the country not only use the farinaceous kernels of these nuts as food, but obtain a saccharine material from the pith, out of which they make wine by fermentation. The petioles of the leaves also furnish them with a strong fiber, used as thread-cord, and for various other purposes. MORETON BAY CHESTNUT.--See Australian chestnut. MONKEY-POT NUT.--See Sapucaia nut. MYROBALAN NUT.--This name is applied rather indiscriminately to the fruits of several species of the genus _Terminalia_, which are, in the main, large trees of the Myrobalan family (_Combretaceæ_). They are native of India, Malay, Fiji, and, in fact, almost all the islands of the Pacific in warm latitudes. The fruits are similar to large plums, but slightly angular, containing a hard, nut-like seed. They are used principally for tanning leather, and also for making ink similar to that made from oak galls. The kernels of all the species are edible, and are eaten by the natives. In the Fiji islands the _Terminalia Catappa_ is a favorite tree with the natives, and they plant it near the houses. The kernels of this species have the flavor of the sweet almond. NICKAR NUT.--The seeds of two species of _Guilandina_, a genus of the bean family (_Leguminosæ_). They are climbing plants, with hard-wooded, prickly stems, forming almost impenetrable thickets near the seacoast in the East Indies and other tropical countries. They have become widely distributed, as the pods readily float when they drop into the water. The pods are about three inches long, very prickly, containing seeds or nuts about the size of small marbles, and exceedingly hard; but in time the water softens them, after which they sprout and grow when cast upon the shore by the waves. The two species are distinguished mainly by the color of the nuts, those of _G. Bonduc_ being yellow, and those of _G. Bonducella_ gray, or with a reddish tint. Of no value or use except as botanical curiosities.