Elaeis guineensis

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Elaeis (eh-leh-iss)
guineensis (gwee-neh-EN-sis)
Picture 1192 male flowers.jpg
Vietnam. Male flowers.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Elaeis (eh-leh-iss)
Species:
guineensis (gwee-neh-EN-sis)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Africa
Africa.gif
Morphology
Habit: Solitary
Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
Dondo Angola, (Burmese): si-htan, si-ohn.

(Creole) : crocro, crocro guinee (English) : African oil palm, guinea oil palm, oil palm, wild oil palm (French) : corojo de Guinea, corossier, crocro, Crocro guinée, palmier a huile (German) : Ölpalme, Steinfrüchte (Luganda) : mubira, munazi (Malay) : kelapa sawit (Mandinka) : tango, tee, tego, tengo (Spanish) : coroco, corojo de Guinea, corozo (Swahili) : mchikichi, miwesi, mjenga (Thai) : pan namman (Trade name) : wild oil palm

(Vietnamese) : co dâu, dua dâu

Habitat and Distribution

Angola, Benin, Bismarck Archipelago, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Caroline Is.,
Hong Kong. Photo by G. Hengman.
Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Fiji, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malaya, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Society Is., Sri Lanka, Sumatera, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zaire. Native to W Africa, but planted throughout the tropics for its oil-rich fruits which are a major source of plant oil on a world scale (Hartley, 1977). In Ecuador it is grown in large plantations below 500 m elevation, particularly in the Santo Domingo-Quinind area.

Description

Elaeis guineensis is a handsome tree reaching a height of 20 m or more at maturity. The trunk is characterized by persistent, spirally arranged leaf bases and bears a crown of 20-40 massive leaves. The root system consists of primaries and secondaries in the top 140 cm of soil. Leaves numerous, erect, spreading to drooping, long, reaching 3-5 m in adult trees; leaf stalks short with a broad base. Spiny, fibrous projections exist along the leaf margins from the leaf sheath, wearing away on old leaves to jagged spines. Leaf blades have numerous (100-160 pairs), of long leaflets with prominent midribs, tapered to a point; arranged in groups or singly along the midrib, arising sometimes in different planes.
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Male and female inflorescences occur on 1 plant; sometimes a single inforescence contains both male and female flowers. Inflorescences arise among the leaf bases in large, very dense clusters, with innumerable small flowers, enclosed in the bud stage in 2 large fibrous bracts, which finally become deciduous. Male flowers single or in pairs in recesses on the branchlets, each with 3 sepals, 3 petals with edges touching in bud, 6 stamens, and a small, sterile pistil. Female flowers subtended by 2-3 small bracts, with 3 sepals, 3 petals overlapping in bud in a ring of small, sterile stamens, and a 3-celled ovary with 3 spreading stigmas. Fruits borne in bunches. The average weight of each bunch is 23 kg, but a bunch may weigh up to 82 kg. A bunch contains between 200 and 2000 sessile ovoid drupes, 4 cm long and 2 cm broad, with pointed apex. The fruit coat colour varies from yellow to orange or nearly black. Four oil palm varieties have been distinguished on the basis of the fruit structure, especially the thickness of the endocarp: E. g. var. macrocarpa with 40-60% shell, E. guineensis var. dura with 20-40% shell, E. g. var. tenera with 5-20% shell and E. guineensis var. pisifera, a shelless form. The generic name comes from the Greek word ‘elaion’ (oil), referring to the oil extracted from the palm. (Borchsenius, F. 1998)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.

Culture

Sunny, moist, but well drained position. Tropical in its requirements.

Comments and Curiosities

Hybrids between this species and Elaeis oleifera are easily made and six hundred hectares have been planted with hybrid individuals in Ecuador (Carrin & Cuvi, 1985). These plants have an erect stem and regularly inserted pinnae borne in one plane. (Borchsenius, F. 1998)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.

History of cultivation: E. guineensis, a native of forested portions of western and central Africa, particularly along rivers, has been spread across Africa by human migrations or intergroup exchange. It may have first been domesticated in Chad, taken to the Congo Basin and eastern Africa long before the arrival of Europeans, and to Sudan 5000 years ago. Africans probably took E. guineensis to Madagascar in the 10th century, the same time it is thought to have been established on the southern coast of Kenya, Pemba and Zanzibar.
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The Dutch introduced it to Southeast Asia. The Bogor Botanic Garden received some seedlings in 1848 from Amsterdam Botanical Gardens. The progeny from this introduction were planted initially between 1880 and 1900 as ornamentals on tobacco estates around Deli and Medan and laid the foundation for the oil palm industry in Southeast Asia. The Singapore Botanic Garden received seeds from Java in 1870, and this helped to diffuse E. guineensis throughout Malaysia and into Sumatra. As markets for oil palm expanded in Europe, the exotic E. guineensis was cultivated on plantation scale starting in 1911. The 1st plantations were established in Malaysia in 1917. In India it was first introduced in 1834 in the botanic garden in Calcutta, and trial plantings were started in 1930 in Kerala. The 1st commercial plantings were started in Kerala in the 1970s. Slave traders took E. guineensis to the New World, but until recently it has not been cultivated to any extent except in Bahia, Brazil.Natural Habitat: It is difficult to determine the natural habitat of the oil palm because, while it does not grow in primeval forest, it flourishes in habitats where forests have been cleared. It requires a relatively open area to grow and reproduce itself and thrives best when soil moisture is maintained. Normally, E. guineensis occurs in disturbed forests and along rivers and streams, both in its native range in West Africa and in some introduced areas. It is a succession species favoured by slash and burn, and its gene pool has expanded as farmers clear land and create more open habitat for the germination of its seeds.

Geographic distribution; Native : Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Uganda. Exotic : China, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Togo, Venezuela, Zanzibar

Biophysical limits; Altitude: Up to 900 m, Mean annual temperature: 27-35 deg. C, Mean annual rainfall: 2000-3000 mm Soil type: It has a fibrous root system and benefits from deep soils that are fertile, free from iron concretions and well drained. It also tolerates a fair range of soil pH (4-6), although neutral soils are favourable.

Reproductive Biology: Male and female flowers are borne on the same plant but open at different times, so that cross-pollination is necessary. A male inflorescence contains 700-1200 flowers and may yield 80 g of pollen over a 5-day period. The female flower is larger and receptive to pollen for 36-48 hours. Honeybees are attracted by the pollen scented like anise seed, which they collect as they gather nectar. It has not been established whether the bees contribute to pollination. However, The weevil Elaeidobius kamerunicus has been found to be a successful pollinator. Fruit development commences immediately after fertilization. Black vultures (Coragypt atratus) feed avidly on E. guineensis and are involved in its dispersal.

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is one of the most important oil bearing crops in the world. However, genetic improvement of oil palm through conventional breeding is extremely slow and costly, as the breeding cycle can take up to 10 years. This has brought about interest in vegetative propagation of oil palm. Since the introduction of oil palm tissue culture in the 1970s, clonal propagation has proven to be useful, not only in producing uniform planting materials, but also in the development of the genetic engineering programme. Despite considerable progress in improving the tissue culture techniques, the callusing and embryogenesis rates from proliferating callus cultures remain very low. Thus, understanding the gene diversity and expression profiles in oil palm tissue culture is critical in increasing the efficiency of these processes.



  • IMAGE GALLERY

  • Singapore.

  • Singapore.

  • Singapore.

  • In the zoo. Vietnam.

  • Vietnam. Male flowers.

  • In the zoo. Vietnam.

  • Leucothrinax morrissii in the foreground, and Elaeis guineensis in the background. Cienfuegos Botanical Garden, Cuba. Photo by Jason Schoneman.

  • COSTA RICA: Heredia: Sarapiqui La Selva Biological Station. Photo by F. A. Michelangeli.

  • HONDURAS: San Alejo. Photo by L.H. Bailey Hortorium.

  • CUBA: Soledad, Atkins Garden. Photo by L.H. Bailey Hortorium.

  • COSTA RICA: Las Cruces Field Station, Wilson Botanical Garden. Photo by Kevin C. Nixon. "Certainly not E. guineensis. Leaflets in one plane" (Paul Cloesen).

  • COSTA RICA: Las Cruces Field Station, Wilson Botanical Garden. Photo by Kevin C. Nixon.

  • Hawaiian Tropical Botanical Garden.

  • "One of the most economically important palm species, the African oil palm is infrequently used in landscaping." Photo courtesy of George Fitzpatrick.

  • Photo courtesy of Gian Stefano Cecca.

  • Photo by Kurt Stueber.

  • Elaeis guineensis fruits on tree, ripe and 2 weeks before ripe. Taken at my farm in Ajumaku, Ghana. Photo by Bongoman. "virescens" phenotype: fruits green before maturity, orange when mature. A relatively rare trait in E. guineensis, but pretty common in E. oleifera" (Paul Cloesen).

  • Photo by Jody Haynes.

  • Photo by Jody Haynes.

  • Photo N. Longhitano.

  • Costa Rica. Photo-Ecoport.com.

  • Oil palm plantation on the slopes of Mt. Cameroon. Photo by Marco Schmidt.

  • Hong Kong. Photo by G. Hengman.

  • Photo by Buildfun.

  • Photo-Infoagro.com.

  • Photo-Greenpassage.org

  • South of Mombassa, Kenna, Tanzania. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.

  • South of Mombassa, Kenna, Tanzania. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.

  • Near Moshi, Tanzania. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.

  • Ecuador. Photo by Dr. William J. Baker, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.

  • Ecuador. Photo by Dr. William J. Baker, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.

  • Ecuador. Photo by Dr. William J. Baker, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.

  • Ecuador. Photo by Dr. William J. Baker, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.

  • Mangataboahangy, Madagascar. Photo by Dr. Mijoro Rakotoarinivo.

  • Ubatuba - São Paulo, Brazil. Photo-FARM MURICY.

  • Ubatuba - São Paulo, Brazil. Photo-FARM MURICY.

  • MG, Brazil. Entire leaf form. Photo by Mauricio Moreira Caixeta.

  • MG, Brazil. Entire leaf form. Photo by Mauricio Moreira Caixeta.

  • MG, Brazil. Entire leaf form. Photo by Mauricio Moreira Caixeta.

  • MG, Brazil. Entire leaf form. Photo by Mauricio Moreira Caixeta.

  • MG, Brazil. Entire leaf form. Photo by Mauricio Moreira Caixeta.

  • MG, Brazil. Entire leaf form. Photo by Mauricio Moreira Caixeta.

  • MG, Brazil. Entire leaf form. Photo by Mauricio Moreira Caixeta.

  • In habitat. Photo-Rare Palm Seeds.com

  • Fruit of Elaeis guineensis (oil palm) produced by a young palm at the botanical garden of Portoviejo, Ecuador.

  • Bukit Tagar, Hulu Selangor, Malaysia. Elaeis guineensis Jacq. syn. Elaeis guineensis subsp. nigrescens A.Chev. CN: [Malay - Kelapa sawit], African oil palm, Oil palm. Harvested bunches. Photo by Ahmad Morad.

  • Bukit Tagar, Hulu Selangor, Malaysia. Finger-like male inflorescence with minute flowers and abundant production of pollens.Elaeis guineensis Jacq. syn. Elaeis guineensis subsp. nigrescens A.Chev. CN: [Malay - Kelapa sawit], African oil palm, Oil palm. Male inflorescence at anthesis. Photo by Ahmad Morad.

  • Bukit Tagar, Hulu Selangor, Malaysia. Elaeis guineensis Jacq. syn. Elaeis guineensis subsp. nigrescens A.Chev. CN: [Malay - Kelapa sawit], African oil palm, Oil palm. Fruit bunches. Photo by Ahmad Morad.

  • Bukit Tagar, Hulu Selangor, Malaysia. Elaeis guineensis Jacq. syn. Elaeis guineensis subsp. nigrescens A.Chev. CN: [Malay - Kelapa sawit], African oil palm, Oil palm. Plant monoecious with both male and female flowers borne on the same tree. Photo by Ahmad Morad.

  • Bukit Tagar, Hulu Selangor, Malaysia. Finger-like male inflorescence with minute flowers and abundant production of pollens. Elaeis guineensis Jacq. syn. Elaeis guineensis subsp. nigrescens A.Chev. CN: [Malay - Kelapa sawit], African oil palm, Oil palm. Male inflorescence at anthesis. Photo by Ahmad Morad.

  • COSTA RICA: Las Cruces Field Station, Wilson Botanical Garden. Photo by Kevin C. Nixon, "Certainly not E. guineensis. Either E. oleifera or an interspecific hybrid. Note flat appearance of the leaflets. In E. guineensis they are alternate in about 45 degree angles. There is no reference to compare size with, but given the rigid habit of the leaves and their apparent size make me think of a hybrid. Leaf length is often superdominant in such palms" (Paul Cloesen).

  • In habitat. Photo-Rare Palm Seeds.com

External Links

References

Phonetic spelling of Latin names by edric.

Special thanks to Geoff Stein, (Palmbob) for his hundreds of photos.

Special thanks to Palmweb.org, Dr. John Dransfield, Dr. Bill Baker & team, for their volumes of information and photos.

Glossary of Palm Terms; Based on the glossary in Dransfield, J., N.W. Uhl, C.B. Asmussen-Lange, W.J. Baker, M.M. Harley & C.E. Lewis. 2008. Genera Palmarum - Evolution and Classification of the Palms. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. All images copyright of the artists and photographers (see images for credits).

Borchsenius, F.1998. Manual to the palms of Ecuador. AAU Reports 37. Department of Systematic Botany, University of Aarhus, Denmark in collaboration with Pontificia Universidad Catalica del Ecuador.


Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions.

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