66
Elaeis
guineensis Jacq.
Synonym : Palma oleosa Mill.
Family
: Arecaceae
Local Names
: Ennapanna, Oil palm,
African oil palm
Flowering
and fruiting period:
Throughout the year
Distribution: West and Central
Africa
Habitat: Cultivated
IUCN
status:
Least concern
Endemic: No
Uses: Palm oil is obtained
from the fruit whilst palm kernel oil is obtained from the seed. Palm oil has a
wide range of uses, including making margarine, vegetable ghee, bakery fats,
and ice cream and as cooking oil. Palm wine is commonly produced in West Africa
by tapping the unopened male inflorescences. Preparations made from the palm heart are used to treat
gonorrhoea, menorrhagia, and perinatal abdominal pain, and are considered
laxative, anti-emetic and diuretic. The leaf sap is used in preparations used
to treat skin affections. The oil from the pulp is emollient and is used as an
excipient for herbal ointments.
Key
Characters:
Oil palm is a Solitary, robust, palm; stem reaches up to 10 m in height. Leaves
pinnate, steeply arching, with numerous pairs of linear leaflets arranged in 4
ranks; basal leaflets reduced to spines. Inflorescence interfoliar; male and
female inflorescences are separate; male flowers arranged in cylindrical branches; female
inflorescences are robust, partially hidden in leaf bases. Ripe fruits deep
purple in colour, slightly angular due to compression.
