Ivory nut Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun nutlike seed of a South American palm; the hard white shell takes a high polish and is used for e.g. buttons
    apple nut; vegetable ivory.

WordNet

Definitions
  1. (Bot.), the nut of a species of palm, the Phytephas macroarpa, often as large as a hen's egg. When young the seed contains a fluid, which gradually hardness into a whitish, close-grained, albuminous substance, resembling the finest ivory in texture and color, whence it is called vegetable ivory. It is wrought into various articles, as buttons, chessmen, etc. The palm is found in New Grenada. A smaller kind is the fruit of the Phytephas microarpa. The nuts are known in commerce as Corosso nuts.

Webster 1913