Oil Palms

[KPL]

Aloha!

This is my first post and I'm looking for information regarding Oil Palms.  This handsome man I live with is not really interested in Oil Palms, but we do have two in the ground.

Many persons ask ME, of all people, about this palm and I know next to nothing about same.  I do know it's a slow growing palm.  Some people here seem to think this is the next big thing and that they can get rich  on growing Oil Palms.  What do you think? Yes I can pick up a book, but I rather open this to hopefully some of you that may be interested in helping me out.

Thank you in advance for your input.

[Dypsisdean]

Aloha Karolyn,

It's my privilege to be the first to welcome you to the Forum.

Unfortunately I know very little about this palm, but I have a feeling we both will know more soon.

[aussiearoids]

Massive plantations have been planted all over the world , in many spots prime rainforest is destroyed to plant massive mono-cultures of these ! In equatorial climates they are very fast growing , and when they get to tall for harvesting the fruits they are destroyed and replaced. Transplanted easily , large ones were shifted from a failed plantation up in the Daintree to make avenues in Port Douglas here in north Queensland.

[Utopia Palms]

Hi All

Yes they should not cut down virgin rain forest just to plant oil palms as we have lost far too much already! That is unless they start using them in reclaimed desert and pumped out some of the waist water that is just let run out into the oceans, and actually do some go for the planet, instead of destroying whole eco systems!

Don’t get me wrong they are a great landscaping palm, although the do require a little maintains! With the physical removal of dead leaves.

Here is a photo of a slightly weird form but looks fantastic with near entire leaves!

[Kris]

Dear Karolyn  

welcome to the board.and as for the oil palm tree is concerned

malayasia leads in the cultivation and sends out palm oil edible grade to india.even india tried growing these trees but not many fruits seen fro which oil could be extracted.

here is a link for you to check what you are growing is it looking similar ?

http://www.rarepalmseeds.com/shop/ElaGui.shtml

here is the one that is growing in our house garden but is in pot for say 16 years in full shade.and its been given to me by a malayasian friend who studied with me here.

here is that still..

[KPL]

Good Morning from Beautiful Leilani Estates!

Dean and Kris, Thank You so very much for your welcomes and responses.  Clayton, that is indeed an unusual looking oil palm.  It doesn't look anything like ours, and Kris thank you for the link.

TAKE CARE, STAY HEALTHY AND CONTINUE TO DO GOOD WORK!.....................~KAROLYN

[amazondk]

Karolyn,

From what I understand of the use of this tree it can be a good source of  Bio Fuel.  In our area, Amazonia it could be planted on degraded land that is in secondary forest cover.  It is true that in Malaysia and Indonesia large areas of primary forest have been converted to oil palm plantations.  I do not see that happening around here.  We have several native palms that are just as good a source of oil and should be used more.  The palm here in Brazil is known as Dende.  It was brought to Brazil with the african slave trade and is an integral part in the cuisine of the state of Bahia.  Dende oil has been used in Africa for at least 5,000 years.  Many of the most important dishes in Brazil use Dende as a prime ingredient.  There is a saying in Brazil, Europe is in the schools, America is in the forests, and Africa is in the Kitchen.  The oil used here in Brazi is very red in color.  The oil used in industrial applications has this color removed.  Dende is a main indgredient of various afro brazilian dishes such as Vatapa, acaraje, bobo de camarao and others.  When I used to go to Salavdor, Bahia I would normally go to the street side booth of a Baiana who was the queen of acaraje and buy an acaraje with hot peppers, drink a coca cola and watch the sun set over Itapoã.  It is a great experience.  Brazil began in Bahia and palm oil is a key element.

dk

[amazondk]

Here is a Baiana selling Acaraje. The palm oil, Dende is to her left.

[KPL]

Aloha Don,

Thank you for that wonderful post.  I wish I was there enjoying some of that delicious food!  

~Karolyn in Hawaii

[amazondk]

Karolyn,

Bahia is a great place.  You have to be careful when they ask you if you like your food hot though.  If you say yes they load on the hot peppers.

dk

[Kris]

Dear Karolyn  

i have a question is it the lipstick palms that you have it in your avatar.if so iam glad we have lots of fans around here who are really crazy of that variety,that would also include me in that list..

and by the way that avatar looks great.

love,

Kris  

[Gileno Machado]

Hi Karolyn,

How nice to read these posts from you...Bo is such a lucky guy being married to someone who shares his love and enthusiasm for palms...(my wife loves dicot flowering and fruiting trees and tropical flowers, oh well...).

As to Elaeis guineensis, considering that the origin of the coconut is still controversial, that species was actually the very first exotic palm introduced in the Americas, maybe by the Portuguese, still in the 16th century, coming from Angola (I've seen a few dutch oil paintings by Albert Eckhout where the species is shown, from 1642).

I've read in a few articles that the French Agricole research centers, in the XXth century, have conducted long term experiments and then they've selected the most productive cultivars which have been introduced and planted in large scale among several Caribbean Islands and also in a few Pacific and Asian Countries.  The oil produced from the fruit is mainly destinated for industrial purposes and maybe also suited for the biodiesel production in the near future, along with Attaleas.

Another interesting fact is that the genus Elaeis has a second species which is endemic to the Amazonic basin, Elaeis oleifera, with similar characteristics but shorter trunks. I've seen a few beautiful mature specimens of these American Oil palms cultivated at Fairchild Tropical gardens in Florida.

As Don mentioned, the traditional center of production in Brazil is the State of Bahia, with its predominant Afro descent culture and culinary, where these palms are widely cultivated everywhere.

A mature Elaeis guineesis is always an impressive massive palm, so please reserve an area around your small babies at your lovely property in Leilani, and don't let Bo plant any more Clinostigmas very close to them for the moment...

Elaeis guineesis in the wild in Sirinhaém:

[KPL]

Hi Kris,

Yes that is the lipstick palm (Cyrtostachys renda) in my avatar.  Below is the full picture.

Gileno,

Thank You for the additional info and the photo.  Actually, all our Clinostigmas are planted away from the Oil Palms since they are from different geographical regions.

~Karolyn in Hawaii

[steve 9atx]

Karolyn

Welcome.  I for one look forward to the flip side of the wit and wisdom to which we have become accustomed from your household.

Re: African Oil Palm, here's a pic I took from our plane (Bo will want to know that it was a Cessna Caravan) over a plantation on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.  You can see how the forest was removed to make way for the palm plantation.

They kind of get lost in such a mass planting, but a beautiful and sizeable palm as a specimen.  It gets just slightly too cold in my neck of the woods to try one.

Steve

[KPL]

Hi Steve,

That's a great picture. Costa Rica here we come, May 2008!

~Karolyn

[Kris]

Dear Karolyn  

thanks for the info on the sealing wax palm !i did not look at your signature initially.so seeing your avatar i could not understand that how you got access to such beautiful lipsticks that i had once voted for the best palm picture last year,then

also thought is it from Al in kona's garden only 2 folks in our forum have such beautiful sealing wax palms as for my knowledge goes.

After seeing you signature everything is clear now and we are all very happy to have you in our discussion boards and

a very warm and special greeting behalf of all here !  

Lots of love to you & to my respected friend Bo Goran,

Kris  

[KPL]

Hej (Swedish for Hi) Kris,

Ah yes    that was our picture in the competition.  This is MY VERY FAVORITE PALM!  

Thank you for your response.

~Karolyn

[Jeff Wilson]

Have 2 African oil palms. Just amazingly fast growers.....even faster than Carpentarias, Veitchias, and Archontophoenixes in my experience. I like the 2 Oil palms, though, but can understand why some people don't....they grow to gargantuan size. I saw one at Kopsick Arboretum in St. Petersburg and to say it was huge was an understatement. Doubtful if you had 4 people hug the truck if they'd be able to lock arms. Oil palms can put out a number of fronds within a short duration once the temps start to rise, and also are literally a palm that can come back from the dead as I've been told by Ray, and it's been related to me that Dent Smith once was the owner of an African Oil palm in Daytona Beach, only to cut it down later because it would freeze, look ugly for a while, but always came back. So, turns out that the only thing that ended up killing Dent's oil palm was Dent, and not the freezes which made it unsightly for a while. Not that you have to worry about that in Hawaii, but it's good news for the people in central and south Florida who want a mammoth of a palm that will never die. Welcome to the board, Karolyn . Haven't been here for a year or more, but I come around from time to time.

I think the term "oil palm" is a bit overused in my humble opinion. Fairly sure that all Attaleas are also coined with the same term. Have one Attalea as well, but it's very slow compared to the African Oil palms. Of course it will grow to a size that is one day too big for my yard, and some day, maybe in 75 years, the person owning this property is going to be a bit upset that someone had the nerve to plant a palm that dwarfs a Roystonea 4 fold.

Jeff

[deezpalms]

Any pictures Jeff??  ???

[Jeff Wilson]

Do I have photos? Well, yes. Just one for now, though. This African oil palm is the smaller of the 2 I have here. It's about to outgrow a few Syagrus: S. sancona on the right, a S. coronata that's in the background and about to set seed for the first time; will probably abort. You can also see a Copernicia fallensis and a small Corypha umbraculifera in this photo. The larger African Oil palm is in the front, and I couldn't get a decent photo of it as it's a bit crowded in there.

Here's a Attalea sp. unknown aka "American Oil palm." Has the very distinct heel or boot at its base. Dead give away that it's an Attalea.

[Davidl]

I  agree that these come back from the dead. I had one I wanted to move and it lost all its fronds and looked dead for about a month and to my surprise a new frond emerged and now three fronds later its on its way to a new life. Your oil palm is looking good Jeff. You have a nice collection of palms that one day maybe I will attain.

[waykoolplantz]

Easily one of my more majestic palms

[Jeff Wilson]

Thank you, David.  

Nice photo, WayKool. Is that a Rhapia sp. behind that huge African Oil? Forgot how to spell the species name: farinifera. Looks like one. Oh, well. Memory's gone, first sign of senility.

[Kris]

Dear WayKool  

Fentastic still and it looks like a palm heaven and is the bird

real or a plastic show peice ?

thanks & Love,

Kris  

[waykoolplantz]

that is a Raphis Farinifera both to the right & behind rhe African Oil...see ithe orange spear  popping above in a vertical shot

and Kris ,  the bird is real

[Kris]

Dear WayKool  

That's really terrefic ! i suppose even the bird thought that it was stroling in the heavens...

Even in my wildest dreams i can not imagine such a pictruisique garden...ever ! Reason it has so many heavy duty

palms of all shapes & sizes from around the world.

Thanks & Love,

Kris  

[waykoolplantz]

It is truly become a wonder

Standing on the dock...you can see a few hundred  species of palms...and the early mornings are magical.

[amazondk]

I stopped by the INPA (Institute of Amazon Studies) while driving around town today.  INPA is a federal agency which deals with all aspects of the Amazonian ecosystem.  They have a great park right in the middle of Manaus.  I saw some african oil palms, Dende, by the front entrance and decided to take a few pictures.  The grounds have many of these palms planted.  But, none are of great height.  They do get pretty tall as well.  One of the nice things around here is that they get covered with various types of ferns.  There are a lot of them planted around town by the city.I have a spot on my lot that I am thinking of putting one.  I have a Spanish Cedar tree that is not doing well and might replace it with a palm

INPA - Manaus

[Kris]

Dear Don  

very nice stills wish to see more if possible.i love this variety.but lack proper space in my garden to accomadate

this beauty.

thanks & love,

Kris  

[Kris]

Dear Karolyn  

here is a clearer still of that palm growing in a cement pot at our home in S.India.

and these palms like phoenix needs trimming if you want your garden to appear neat.so it works out to more cleaning job !

Love,

Kris  

[Kris]

One More clear still...

[Al in Kona]

Up to now anyway, I've avoided planting an African oil palm in the garden here even tho' I could find space to put one.  After seeing plantations of them in both Costa Rica and Malaysia and seeing how big they get (huge thick trunks) and knowing that they need trimming (old leaves must be cut off) to really look neat, I just decided that there are too many other easier maintenance palms to plant in the garden.  I'd be the first to admit, however, that a nicely grown and cared for one can be quite nice looking.

[amazondk]

Here are a few African oil palms that are growing along the highway north of here.  When they get big they are really nice looking.  And, I believe they shed the old leaves, at least from what it looks like.  I doubt very much that the folks in the country here would go to the work of cutting them for neatness.   I have decided that I am going to put one on my lot after thinking about it.

Here is a palm growing next to a M. flexuosa.

This one has some local oil palms the Inaja (Maximiliana maripa) growing behind it.

The same palm from another angle framed by some Mauritias..

[amazondk]

I found this interesting article about the African Oil Palm Oil Palm Article about Indonesia and Malaysia. I do think that the tree can be successfully grown in a sustainable manner withouth impacting the forest.  At least here in Amazonia.  We already have enough areas of degraded land that could be converted to palm plantations for bio fuel production.  It reamains to see what will be done with this in the future.  The article lays things out pretty well I believe.  

dk

[Bilbo]

The trouble with Oil Palms in Indonesia is that they are being cut down by the Dyaks who dont re-plant them.

The thinning is having a knock- on effect on the local wildlife especially mammals.

Those guys are unlikely to respond to arguments such as the possible advantages of eco-tourism to their well being as they cut off the heads of the guys from the next village . . .

Any volunteers?!

Regardez

and looking forward to meeting Karolyn, Bo and all in CR in 2008.

(UK members note everone - I think -  in CR speaks English and we have several Brit members living over there.)

Juan