vegetable ivory

n.
A hard ivorylike material obtained from the ivory nut and used in making small objects such as buttons.

The seed of the tagua palm (Phytelephas macrocarpa) of tropical America. Each drupelike fruit contains six to nine bony seeds. The extremely hard endosperm of the seed is used as a substitute for ivory. Vegetable ivory can be carved and tooled to make buttons, chessmen, knobs, inlays, and various ornamental articles. See also Arecales.

---

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: nutlike seed of a South American palm; the hard white shell takes a high polish and is used for e.g. buttons
  Synonyms: ivory nut, apple nut

---