Elaeis
Elaeis | |
---|---|
African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Arecales |
Family: | Arecaceae |
Subfamily: | Arecoideae
|
Tribe: | Cocoseae |
Genus: | Elaeis Jacq. |
Species | |
Synonyms[1] | |
Elaeis (from
and is used locally for oil production.Description
Mature palms are single-stemmed, and can grow well over 20 m (66 ft) tall. The
The palm fruit is reddish, about the size of a large plum, and grows in large bunches. Each fruit is made up of an oily, fleshy outer layer (the pericarp), with a single seed (the palm kernel), also rich in oil.
Species
The two species, E. guineensis and E. oleifera can produce fertile hybrids. The genome of E. guineensis has been sequenced, which has important implications for breeding improved strains of the crop plants.[4]
Image | Name | Common name | Distribution |
---|---|---|---|
Elaeis guineensis Jacq. | African oil palm or macaw-fat | west and southwest Africa, specifically the area between Angola and The Gambia | |
Elaeis oleifera (Kunth) Cortés | American oil palm | South and Central America from Honduras to northern Brazil |
Human use
Commercial palm oil cultivation
Since palm oil contains more
Human use of oil palms may date back to about 5,000 years in coastal west Africa. Palm oil was also discovered in the late 19th century by archaeologists in a tomb at Abydos dating back to 3000 BCE.[6] It is thought that Arab traders brought the oil palm to Egypt.[citation needed]
Elaeis guineensis is now extensively cultivated in tropical countries outside Africa, particularly Malaysia and Indonesia which together produce most of the world supply.
Fiber
Elaeis was found to be a cheap source of nanofiber by Fahma et al 2010. It is especially suited to production in Indonesia where cellulosic waste is already an abundant byproduct.[7]
Controversy
Palm oil is typically considered the most controversial of the cooking oils – for political, health, and environmental reasons.
In 2018 a Christmas TV advertisement by UK supermarket chain Iceland Foods Ltd, produced by Greenpeace, was banned by the UK advertising watchdog Clearcast,[10] as it was deemed too political. This was an animated short, starring a fictional orangutan named Rang-tan produced to raise awareness of the environmental impact of the production of palm oil, and the dangers orangutans face as a result. Iceland Foods had committed to banning palm oil from its own-brand products by the end of 2018.[11]
Almost all wildlife declines in both diversity and abundance in oil palm plantations.[12]
See also
- Attalea maripa, another oil-producing palm
- Journal of Oil Palm Research
- Energy and the environment
- List of Arecaceae genera
- Social and environmental impact of palm oil
References
- ^ Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families".
- ^ Gledhill, David (2008). The Name of Plants (4 ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (CUP). p. 279.
- ISBN 0-00-219112-1
- PMID 23883927.
- .
- ISBN 0521402166. Archived from the originalon 20 October 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
- ISSN 0144-8617.
- ^ "Why palm oil is so controversial". The Independent. August 24, 2018.
- ^ "Palm Oil Plantations Are Blamed For Many Evils. But Change Is Coming". NPR. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
- ^ "Opinion: Iceland's Christmas advert ban for being 'too political' is heartless". The Independent. November 9, 2018.
- ^ "Iceland supermarkets to ban palm oil in own-brand products". BBC News. April 10, 2018.
- ^
Eggleton, Paul (2020). "The State of the World's Insects". ISSN 1543-5938.
External links
- Media related to Elaeis at Wikimedia Commons
- "Oil palm - Diseases and Pests, Description, Uses, Propagation". Penn StatePlantVillage. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
- "AESA BASED IPM PACKAGE - OIL PALM" (PDF). National Institute of Plant Health Management.
- "NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY MISSION - OILPALM". Andhra Pradesh, Horticulture Department. Retrieved 2020-11-19.