Ajay Kumar at 17:42, 24 August 2023

2023-08-24T17:42:07Z

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{{Short description|Oil palms, genus}}
{{Redirect|Oil palm||List of plants known as oil palm}}
{{Hatnote|For the Greek goddess of oil, see [[Elais]]}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image = Elaeis guineensis0.jpg
|image_caption = African oil palm (''Elaeis guineensis'')
|display_parents = 2
|taxon = Elaeis
|authority = [[Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin|Jacq.]]
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision =
*''[[Elaeis guineensis]]'' [[Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin|Jacq.]]
*''[[Elaeis oleifera]]'' ([[Carl Sigismund Kunth|Kunth]]) [[Santiago Cortés (botanist)|Cortés]]
|synonyms =
* ''Corozo'' [[Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin|Jacq.]] ex [[Paul Dietrich Giseke|Giseke]]
* ''Alfonsia'' [[Carl Sigismund Kunth|Kunth]]
|synonyms_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wcsp.science.kew.org/prepareChecklist.do;jsessionid=B754A84A259AC3FD89D6811E7C3E7DE2.kppapp06-wcsp?checklist=selected_families%40%40337021220201538532|title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
|author=[[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]]}}</ref>
}}

'''''Elaeis''''' ({{etymology|el||oil}}) is a genus of [[Arecaceae|palms]] containing two species, called '''oil palms'''. They are used in commercial [[agriculture]] in the production of [[palm oil]]. The African oil palm ''[[Elaeis guineensis|E. guineensis]]'' (from [[Guinea]]) is the principal source of palm oil. It is native to west and southwest [[Africa]], occurring between [[Angola]] and [[Gambia]]. The American oil palm ''[[Elaeis oleifera|E. oleifera]]'' ({{etymology|la|oleifer|oil-producing}})<ref>{{cite book |last=Gledhill |first=David |title=The Name of Plants |url=https://archive.org/details/namesplants00gled_746 |url-access=limited |edition=4 |location=Cambridge |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] (CUP)|page=[https://archive.org/details/namesplants00gled_746/page/n288 279] |year=2008}}</ref> is native to tropical [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]],<ref>Collins Guide to Tropical Plants, {{ISBN|0-00-219112-1}}</ref> and is used locally for oil production.

==Description==
Mature palms are single-stemmed, and can grow well over {{convert|20|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} tall. The [[leaf|leaves]] are [[pinnate]], and reach between {{convert|3|-|5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} long. The [[flower]]s are produced in dense clusters; each individual flower is small, with three sepals and three petals.

[[File:Liberia oil palm.jpg|thumb|Harvesting, [[Liberia]]]]
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 [[hybrid (biology)|hybrids]]. The [[genome]] of ''E. guineensis'' has been sequenced, which has important implications for breeding improved strains of the crop plants.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Singh, R. |author2=Ong-Abdullah, M. |author3=Low, E.-T.L. |author4=Manaf, M.A.A. |author5=Rosli, R. |author6=Nookiah, R. |author7=Ooi, L.C.-L. |author8=Ooi, S.-E. |author9=Chan, K.-L. |author10=Halim, M.A. |author11=Azizi, N. |author12=Nagappan, J. |author13=Bacher, B. |author14=Lakey, N. |author15=Smith, S.W. |author16=He, D. |author17=Hogan, M. |author18=Budiman, M.A. |author19=Lee, E.K. |author20=DeSalle, R. |author21=Kudrna, D. |author22=Goicoechea, J.L. |author23=Wing, R.A. |author24=Wilson, R.K. |author25=Fulton, R.S. |author26=Ordway, J.M. |author27=Martienssen, R.A. |author28=Sambanthamurthi, R. |year=2013|title=Oil palm genome sequence reveals divergence of interfertile species in Old and New worlds|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|volume=500|issue=7462 |doi=10.1038/nature12309|pages=335–339 |pmid=23883927 |pmc=3929164}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Image !! Name !! Common name!! Distribution
|-
|[[File:Elaeis guineensis - Fruit and Spice Park - Homestead, Florida - DSC09011.jpg|120px]] || ''[[Elaeis guineensis]]'' [[Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin|Jacq.]] || African oil palm or macaw-fat||west and southwest Africa, specifically the area between Angola and The Gambia
|-
|[[File:Oilpalmmagdalenacolombia-2.jpg|120px]] || ''[[Elaeis oleifera]]'' ([[Carl Sigismund Kunth|Kunth]]) [[Santiago Cortés (botanist)|Cortés]] || American oil palm||South and Central America from Honduras to northern Brazil
|-
|}

==Human use==
===Commercial palm oil cultivation===
{{main|Palm oil}}
Since palm oil contains more [[saturated fats]] than oils made from canola, corn, linseed, soybeans, safflower, and sunflowers, it can withstand extreme deep-frying heat and resists oxidation.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1002/ejlt.200600192 |title=Frying performance of a sunflower/palm oil blend in comparison with pure palm oil |year=2007 |last1=De Marco |first1=Elena |last2=Savarese |last3=Parisini |last4=Battimo |last5=Falco |last6=Sacchi |journal=[[European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology]]|volume=109|issue=3 |pages=237–246 |first2=Maria |first3=Cristina |first4=Ilaria |first5=Salvatore |first6=Raffaele}}</ref> It contains no [[trans fat]], and its use in food has increased as food-labelling laws have changed to specify trans fat content. Oil from ''Elaeis guineensis'' is also used as [[biofuel]].

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, Egypt|Abydos]] dating back to 3000 BCE.<ref name=Kiple>{{cite book |title=The Cambridge World History of Food |editor1-last=Kiple |editor1-first=Kenneth F. |editor2-last=Conee Ornelas |editor2-first=Kriemhild |year=2000 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] (CUP)|isbn=0521402166 |url=http://www.cambridge.org/us/books/kiple/palmoil.htm |access-date=30 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020201103/http://www.cambridge.org/us/books/kiple/palmoil.htm |archive-date=20 October 2012 }}</ref> It is thought that Arab traders brought the oil palm to Egypt.{{Citation needed|date=December 2019|reason=removed citation to predatory publisher content}}

''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 [[cellulose|cellulosic]] waste is already an abundant byproduct.<ref name="Khalil-et-al-2012">{{cite journal | last1=Abdul Khalil | first1=H.P.S. | last2=Bhat | first2=A.H. | last3=Ireana Yusra | first3=A.F. | title=Green composites from sustainable cellulose nanofibrils: A review | journal=[[Carbohydrate Polymers]] | publisher=[[Elsevier]] | volume=87 | issue=2 | year=2012 | issn=0144-8617 | doi=10.1016/j.carbpol.2011.08.078 | pages=963–979}}</ref>

==Controversy==
Palm oil is typically considered the most controversial of the cooking oils – for political, health, and environmental reasons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/palm-oil-health-impact-environment-animals-deforestation-heart-a8505521.html|title=Why palm oil is so controversial|date=August 24, 2018|website=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> Palm oil plantations are under increasing scrutiny for [[Social and environmental impact of palm oil|social and environmental harm]], particularly because [[rainforests]] with high [[biodiversity]] are destroyed, [[greenhouse gas]] output is increased, and because people are displaced by palm-oil enterprises and traditional livelihoods are negatively impacted. Especially in Indonesia, there is also growing pressure for palm oil producers to prove that they are not harming rare animals in the cultivation process.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/04/21/396815303/palm-oil-plantations-are-blamed-for-many-evils-but-change-is-coming|title=Palm Oil Plantations Are Blamed For Many Evils. But Change Is Coming|work=[[NPR]]|access-date=2017-07-19|language=en}}</ref>

In 2018 a [[Christmas]] TV advertisement by UK supermarket chain [[Iceland_(supermarket)|Iceland Foods Ltd]], produced by [[Greenpeace]], was banned by the UK advertising watchdog [[Clearcast]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/iceland-christmas-advert-banned-tv-greenpeace-palm-oil-political-emma-thompson-a8626416.html|title=Opinion: Iceland's Christmas advert ban for being 'too political' is heartless|date=November 9, 2018|website=The Independent}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43696948|title=Iceland supermarkets to ban palm oil in own-brand products|work=[[BBC News]]|date=April 10, 2018}}</ref>

Almost all wildlife declines in both [[species diversity|diversity]] and [[abundance (ecology)|abundance]] in oil palm plantations.<ref name="Eggleton-2020">
{{ Cite journal |
year=2020|
issue=1|
volume=45|
first=Paul|
pages=61–82|
publisher=[[Annual Reviews (publisher)|Annual Reviews]]|
journal=[[Annual Review of Environment and Resources]]|
issn=1543-5938|
last=Eggleton|
doi=10.1146/annurev-environ-012420-050035|
title=The State of the World's Insects|doi-access=free}}
</ref>

==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==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{commonscatinline}}
* {{cite web | title=Oil palm - Diseases and Pests, Description, Uses, Propagation | website=[[Penn State]] PlantVillage | url=http://plantvillage.psu.edu/topics/oil-palm/infos | access-date=2020-11-19}}
* {{cite web|url=http://niphm.gov.in/IPMPackages/Oilpalm.pdf|title=AESA BASED IPM PACKAGE - OIL PALM|website=[[Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine, and Storage]] and [[National Institute of Plant Health Management]]}}
* {{cite web | title=NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY MISSION - OILPALM | website=[[Andhra Pradesh Department of Agriculture|Andhra Pradesh]], [[Horticulture Department]] | url=http://horticulture.ap.nic.in/Section%20wise/NMOOP/NMOOP/index.html | access-date=2020-11-19}}

{{Arecaceae genera}}
{{Palm oil}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q7609983}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Oil palm]]
[[Category:Cocoseae]]
[[Category:Flora of Sierra Leone]]
[[Category:Arecaceae genera]]
[[Category:Oil seeds]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin]]

Elaeis - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 17:42, 24 August 2023