Attalea speciosa (babassu, babassu palm, babaçu, cusi) is a palm native to Brazil, Guyana, Suriname and Bolivia. It is now widespread in Mexico. The babassu palm is an perennial evergreen palm, reaching up a height of 15 to 30 m. The trunk is slender, ringed with leaf scars, 20-50 cm in diameter. A dense rounded crown, 8 m in diameter, is formed by 15-20 huge leaves up to 9 m long. Attalea speciosa bears 2-4 inflorescences of whitish or yellowish flowers. Bunches are 1 m long, weigh 40-90 kg and bear 250 to 600 fruits twice a year. The fruits are oblong nuts (8-15 cm long x 5-9 cm broad) containing 3-8 kernels surrounded by fleshy pulp and a hard woody shell, similar to the coconut shell.

Babassu oil can be used in food cooking, as a lubricant, and in soap and cosmetics. The shell of the nut can be used to make smokeless charcoal, and flesh of the babassu nut is used to produce flour. Palm hearts are extracted from the tree to make a juice. The leaf and stalk of the babassu palm are used in building materials. Baskets and other handicrafts can be made from the fibre of the leaves.