Elaeis oleifera
(Kunth) Cortés
American oil palm
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What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit - Oil
Two types of oil are obtained from this plant: palm oil from the fruit and palm kernel oil from the seed. Both have a wide range of culinary uses including making margarine, ice cream, and cooking oil.
Where to Find It
It grows in tropical locations. Plants required plenty of water. It can grow in flooded conditions. It suits hardiness zones 11-12.
Amazon, Asia, Australia, Brazil, Central America, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guianas, Guyana, Honduras, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, SE Asia, South America, Suriname, Venezuela,
How to Identify
A palm with a creeping trunk. It extends for several metres before turning upright. The erect trunk is about 2-4 m high. The trunk is covered with the remains of the leaf bases and spiny leaf stalks. The leaves are about 4 m long. The leaflets are often about 1 m long. The fruit are dark orange. They are in congested heads. They are 2-3 cm long and 1.5-2 cm wide. The fruit have oily flesh.
How to Grow
A plant of the lowland, moist tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 510 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 30°c, but can tolerate 14 - 34°c. It can be killed by temperatures of 8°c or lower. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,400 - 2,500mm, but tolerates 700 - 3,500mm. Plants grow well in full sun, even when small. Requires a humus-rich, well-drained soil, but is not fussy as to soil type. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 5 - 7.3. A slow growing tree. Plants can commence bearing just 3 years after the seed has germinated. The plant produces both male and female flowers, but not usually at the same time. An individual inflorescence will be all male or all female flowers; after a series of inflorescences of one sex the plant will then produce a series of inflorescences of the opposite sex.
Propagation: Pre-soak seed for 24 hours in warm water and sow in containers. Germination takes 2–5 months.
Medicinal Uses
The oil extracted from the pulp is applied externally to treat rheumatism, stimulate hair growth, combat dandruff, and repel insects. Hairs from the leaf axils are said to be haemostatic.
Other Uses
The two oils — palm oil from the fruit and palm kernel oil from the seed — contain a high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids and are used in making soaps, detergents, shampoos, cosmetics, hair creams, lubricating oil additives, and fluxes. The oil can also be applied to the body as an insect repellent.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Elaeis oleifera is a species of palm commonly called the American oil palm. It is native to South and Central America from Honduras to northern Brazil. Unlike its relative Elaeis guineensis, the African oil palm, it is rarely planted commercially to produce palm oil, but hybrids between the two species are, mainly in efforts to provide disease resistance and to increase the proportion of unsaturated fatty acids in the oil.
Notes
There are 2 Elaeis species.
Names & Synonyms
Batana, Caiaue, Coquito, Corozo, Kelapa sawit amerika, Murisi, Noli, Palmiche, Sabana obe, Ujun
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