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Common name

English: African Oil Palm

German: Afrikanische Ölpalme

Portuguese: Dendezeiro, Palmeira-de-óleo-africana

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae (2659)

  Phylum: Tracheophyta (2572)

    Class: Liliopsida (392)

      Order: Arecales (29)

        Family: Arecaceae (29)(family description)

          Genus: Elaeis (1)

            Epithet: guineensis Jacq. (2)

Synonyms: Elaeis dybowskii Hua, Elaeis madagascariensis (Jum. & H.Perrier) Becc.

dybowskii => in honor of Jean Thadée Emmanuel Dybowski (1856-1928), French agronomist, naturalist and explorer

guineensis => indicates origin in the Guinea Coast

madagascariensis => from Madagascar

Characteristics

Climate: tropical

Habitat: mesophytic

Habit: tree

Flower colour: orange, yellow

Botanical description

Undisturbed african oil palms grow 12-20(-25) m heigh and can reach ages of up to 150 years (e.g. Bogor, Indonesia; *1848 +1993). The palm tree's stem is cylindrical, from 45 cm to 65 cm in diameter at breast height and covered with petiole bases when young, but smooth and grey in older trees. In plantations the economical live span is 25 years, limited by the exponential increase in harvesting expenditure with growing trunk height.

External links

Check for Elaeis guineensis at

World Flora Online, GBIF or IPNI

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