Elaeis guineensis is a species of palm commonly just called oil palm but also sometimes African oil palm or macaw-fat.[3] It is the principal source of palm oil. It is native to west and southwest Africa, specifically the area between Angola and The Gambia; the species name, guineensis, refers to the name for the area called Guinea, and not the modern country Guinea now bearing that name. The species is also now naturalised in Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Central America, Cambodia, the West Indies, and several islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The closely related American oil palm E. oleifera and a more distantly related palm, Attalea maripa, are also used to produce palm oil.
E. guineensis was domesticated in West Africa along the south-facing Atlantic coast. There is insufficient documentation and as of 2019[update][4] insufficient research to make any guesses as to when this occurred.[5] Human use of oil palms may date as far back as 5,000 years in Egypt; in the late 1800s, archaeologists discovered palm oil in a tomb at Abydos, Egypt dating back to 3000 BCE.[6]
The first Western person to describe it and bring back seeds was the French naturalist Michel Adanson.[7]
Oil palms can produce much more oil per unit of land area than most other oil-producing plants (about nine times more than soy and 4.5 times more than rapeseed).[8]
^Cosiaux, A.; Gardiner, L.M.; Couvreur, T.L.P. (2016). "Elaeis guineensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016. IUCN: e.T13416970A13416973. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T13416970A13416973.en. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
^"Elaeis guineensis Select. Stirp. Amer. Hist.: 280 (1763)". World Flora Online. World Flora Consortium. 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
^"Elaeis guineensis". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
^
Okolo, C. C.; Okolo, E. F.; Nnadi, A. L.; Obikwelu, F. E.; Obalum, S. E.; Igwe, C. A. (2019). "The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq): nature's ecological endowment to eastern Nigeria". Agro-Science Journal of Tropical Agriculture, Food, Environment and Extension. 18 (3). African Journals OnLine (AJOL): 48–57. doi:10.4314/as.v18i3.9. ISSN 1119-7455. S2CID 207988695.
^Purugganan, Michael D.; Fuller, Dorian Q. (2009). "The nature of selection during plant domestication". Nature. 457 (7231). Nature Research: 843–848. Bibcode:2009Natur.457..843P. doi:10.1038/nature07895. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 19212403. S2CID 205216444.
^Kiple, Kenneth F.; Conee Ornelas, Kriemhild, eds. (2000). The Cambridge World History of Food. Cambridge University Press (CUP). p. II.E.3. ISBN 978-0521402163. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
^Jean-Marie Pelt, « Michel Adanson, le baobab et les coquillages », dans La Cannelle et le panda : les grands naturalistes explorateurs autour du Monde, Fayard, 1999 ISBN 978-2213-60466-4.
^Michael Le Page (May 5, 2018). "The real palm oil problem: it's not just in your food". New Scientist. See especially this graph.
Elaeisguineensis is a species of palm commonly just called oil palm but also sometimes African oil palm or macaw-fat. It is the principal source of palm...
rich in oil. The two species, E. guineensis and E. oleifera can produce fertile hybrids. The genome of E. guineensis has been sequenced, which has important...
Central America from Honduras to northern Brazil. Unlike its relative Elaeisguineensis, the African oil palm, it is rarely planted commercially to produce...
bonds) is 16:0. It is a major component of palm oil from the fruit of Elaeisguineensis (oil palms), making up to 44% of total fats. Meats, cheeses, butter...
palm oil in a tomb at Abydos dating back to 3,000 BCE. Palm oil from Elaeisguineensis has long been recognized in West and Central African countries, used...
coconut oil from its seeds Elaeis oleifera, the American oil palm The genus Elaeis, with just two species, E. guineensis and E. oleifera, referred to...
habitats. In most places, the dominant vegetation usually consists of Elaeisguineensis which has the highest productivity amongst all recognized oleaginous...
Elaeis melanococca can refer to: Elaeis melanococca Gaertn., a synonym of Elaeisguineensis, the African oil palm Elaeis melanococca Mart. (an illegitimate...
is a common breeder in wet savannah and woodland with oil palms, Elaeisguineensis. The latter provide sap from the incisions made in the trunk to collect...
(not the seeds) of palm nuts, the fruit of the African oil palm (Elaeisguineensis) tree. It forms an important ingredient in stews and sauces in African...
is found in Sumatra, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. It is a major pest on Elaeisguineensis, the African oil palm. The moth completes a mean life time of 90 days...
pathogen that causes basal stem rot, a disease of the African oil palm (Elaeisguineensis). The fungus was first described scientifically in 1838 by Elias Magnus...
Streptomyces which has been isolated from rhizosphere soil from the palm Elaeisguineensis in Chiang Mai in Thailand. List of Streptomyces species Parte, A.C...
reproduction of molluscs, fish and sea turtles. On the mainland, palm trees (Elaeisguineensis) are most noticeable, as well as savanna shrubs and sandy shores....
Sentimental Hygiene "Bad Karma", a 2014 song by Axel Thesleff Bad Karma (Elaeisguineensis), an epiallele in the genetics of the most common oilpalm Karma (disambiguation)...
and olives. Palm oil is obtained from the fruits of the oil palm (Elaeisguineensis). The fruits of the cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao) are used to make...
floral developmental abnormality of the in vitro-regenerated oil palm Elaeisguineensis". Ann. Bot. 108 (8): 1453–62. doi:10.1093/aob/mcq266. PMC 3219487...
found in India and Sri Lanka. Larval host plants are Cocos nucifera, Elaeisguineensis, Hevea brasiliensis and Punica granatum. "Species Details: Acanthopsyche...
volubilis, the roasted seeds can be consumed as nuts. Palm nuts (Elaeisguineensis), important famine food among the Himba people in Africa. Red bopple...
years and 50 scientists spanning the globe to sequence the genome of Elaeisguineensis (oil palm). This genome was particularly difficult to sequence because...
native species, some invasive plants, like Royostenia oleracea and Elaeisguineensis, do represent significant portions of their diet. Toco toucans may...
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