The seeds of this South American palm leaf are considered in the market as «vegetal ivory», although its importance has decreased considerably compared to 100 years ago.

Before the age of plastic, the buttons were produced in large quantities using as raw material this large, white and extremely hard seed that in fact looks like ivory.

the seed of the tagua has dimensions ranging from 3 to 5 cm, these form an embryo, substance of reserve endosperm and wrapped by a seminal, tegument or episperm.

Composition
The tegument is brown and consists of two parts: forehead and tegmen, the forehead is thin because it is the endocarp of the woody fruit and acts as a protective barrier against the aggressions of the external environment, the tegmen presents a darker color and appearance while the endosperm stores reserve substances generally carbohydrate, protein and lipid hydrates.