INFORMATION ON THE TAGUA
The tagua, also is known as a nut of ivory or vegetable ivory for his resemblance with this one; it is the seed of several classes of palms that grow in the humid forests from Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil. and that can reach a height of even of 8 mts.
His scientific name is Phytelephas Aequatorialis.
In 1880, four thousand tons of tagua were exported, all this demand was for the manufacture of buttons, pips and other tools. This exportation began his slope when one began using the plastic.
Of the tagua one makes use also of the sheets for roof in the housings of the peasants; of these sheets there are extracted a few fibres that serve for the ropemaking.
The hardness of the tagua and his resemblance with the animal ivory has been well-known for many years.
It is a thorny palm which appearance is not very esthetic and that produces up to 15 cobs which have a very hard rind with protrusions and ride inside each one, approximately approximately 30 seeds called "pepas" and reach a size of up to 10 cm, this is the part that is used in the craft.
These pepas, they leave a few weeks to themselves to the sun and dry off, then his interior becomes white and durisimo with a color and a hardness similar to the ivory.
 For great time the Panamanian Indians have used it to carve figures, almost always of animals.
In the wide scale of use that the tagua has in the craft, we meet all kinds of costume jewelry, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, pendants, rings and an endless number of objects.
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