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68-449: Elaeis guineensis is a species of palm commonly just called oil palm but also sometimes African oil palm or macaw-fat . The first Western person to describe it and bring back seeds was the French naturalist Michel Adanson . It is native to west and southwest Africa, specifically the area between Angola and The Gambia ; the species name, guineensis , refers to the name for

136-407: A clustering habit results. Exclusively sympodial genera include many of the rattans , Guihaia , and Rhapis . Several palm genera have both solitary and clustering members. Palms which are usually solitary may grow in clusters and vice versa. Palms have large, evergreen leaves that are either palmately ('fan-leaved') or pinnately ('feather-leaved') compound and spirally arranged at the top of

204-521: A diploid number of 2n = 32. The Asian effective population size is very limited. The cultivars comprising cultivation in Asia descend from only four trees, which are themselves probably the result of a selfing of one parent. Unlike other relatives, oil palms do not produce offshoots ; propagation is by sowing the seeds . Several varieties and forms of E. guineensis have been selected that have different characteristics. These include: Before

272-463: A large amount of the human diet and several other human uses, both by absolute amount produced and by number of species domesticated . This is far higher than almost any other plant family, sixth out of domesticated crops in the human diet, and first in total economic value produced – sharing the top spot with the Poaceae and Fabaceae . These human uses have also spread many Arecaceae species around

340-565: A loss of 5,000 hectares (12,355 acres) of E. guineensis near San Lorenzo in Ecuador . The protozoa cause bud rot (Spanish: pudrición del cogollo). In reaction, growers there replanted using a hybrid of E. guineensis and E. oleifera , the South American oil palm. Endophytic bacteria are organisms inhabiting plant organs that at some time in their life cycles can colonize the internal plant tissues without causing apparent harm to

408-461: A significant problem. This problem apparently persisted for much of the 1980s, but in a 1991 comparison of seed sources, contamination had been reduced to below 2%, indicating control had been restored. A 1992 study at a trial plot in Banting , Selangor, revealed the "yield of Deli dura oil palms after four generations of selection was 60% greater than that of the unselected base population. Crossing

476-637: A variety of different habitats. Their diversity is highest in wet, lowland forests. South America , the Caribbean , and areas of the South Pacific and southern Asia are regions of concentration. Colombia may have the highest number of palm species in one country. There are some palms that are also native to desert areas such as the Arabian Peninsula and parts of northwestern Mexico. Only about 130 palm species naturally grow entirely beyond

544-609: A water source, and in desert oases such as the date palm . A few palms are adapted to extremely basic lime soils, while others are similarly adapted to extreme potassium deficiency and toxicity of heavy metals in serpentine soils . Palms are a monophyletic group of plants, meaning the group consists of a common ancestor and all its descendants. Extensive taxonomic research on palms began with botanist H.E. Moore , who organized palms into 15 major groups based mostly on general morphological characteristics. The following classification, proposed by N.W. Uhl and J. Dransfield in 1987,

612-485: A white rot involving lignin biodegradation, for integrated control. The existing literature does not report this area and appears to be concerned particularly with the mode of spread and molecular biology of Ganoderma . The white rot perception opens up new fields in breeding/selecting for resistant cultivars of oil palms with high lignin content, ensuring the conditions for lignin decomposition are reduced, and simply sealing damaged oil palms to stop decay. The spread likely

680-505: Is a family of perennial , flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales . Their growth form can be climbers , shrubs , tree -like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms . Those having a tree-like form are colloquially called palm trees . Currently, 181 genera with around 2,600 species are known, most of which are restricted to tropical and subtropical climates. Most palms are distinguished by their large, compound, evergreen leaves, known as fronds , arranged at

748-508: Is a revision of Moore's classification that organizes palms into 6 subfamilies. A few general traits of each subfamily are listed below. The Phytelephantoideae is the sixth subfamily of Arecaceae in N.W. Uhl and J. Dransfield's 1987 classification. Members of this group have distinct monopodial flower clusters. Other distinct features include a gynoecium with five to 10 joined carpels, and flowers with more than three parts per whorl. Fruits are multiple-seeded and have multiple parts. From

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816-413: Is associated with its creation myth as the first tree that Ọbatala finds descending to earth; it is also believed as Ọrunmila 's axis mundi connecting heaven and earth. Thus, oil palm fronds often mark areas of sacred religious important or incorporated in traditional orisha garment; its kernels are also prepared to use as a tool of receiving Ọrunmila's words to the babalawo . In Cambodia, this palm

884-419: Is by spores rather than roots. The knowledge gained can be employed in the rapid degradation of oil palm waste on the plantation floor by inoculating suitable fungi, and/or treating the waste more appropriately (e.g. chipping and spreading over the floor rather than windrowing). Markom et al. , 2009 developed and successfully used an electronic nose system for detection. Phytophthora palmivora has caused

952-605: Is from Dravidian *aṭ-ay-kkāy ("areca nut"). The suffix -aceae is the feminine plural of the Latin -āceus ("resembling"). Palm originates from Latin palma semantically overlapping with sense of " hand front " (due to similar splayed shape) ultimately from Proto-Indo-European * pl̥h₂meh₂ , a direct descendant folm once existed in Old English. Whether as shrubs, tree-like, or vines, palms have two methods of growth: solitary or clustered. The common representation

1020-485: Is monocotyledonous. Mature palms are single-stemmed and grow to 20 meters (66 ft) tall. The leaves are pinnate and reach 3–5 m (10– 16 + 1 ⁄ 2  ft) long. A young palm produces about 30 leaves a year. Established palms over 10 years produce about 20 leaves a year. The flowers are produced in dense clusters; each individual flower is small, with three sepals and three petals. The palm fruit takes 5–6 months to develop from pollination to maturity. It

1088-462: Is not available and full breeding programs are not ongoing as of 2015. Basal stem rot is the most serious disease of oil palm in Malaysia and Indonesia. Previously, research on basal stem rot was hampered by the failure to artificially infect oil palms with the fungus. Although Ganoderma had been associated with BSR, proof of its pathogenicity to satisfy Koch's postulate was only achieved in

1156-422: Is obligately transmitted as the third juvenile stage by vectors , specifically several species of weevil. Unlike congener B. xylophilus there are not thought to be any non plant hosts to serve as reservoir hosts for infection of E. guineensis . Besides direct infestation of the palm, other nematodes infest the pollinating weevil Elaeidobius kamerunicus , reducing pollination and yield. Because each tree

1224-496: Is often called "anomalous secondary growth". The Arecaceae are notable among monocots for their height and for the size of their seeds, leaves, and inflorescences. Ceroxylon quindiuense , Colombia's national "tree", is the tallest monocot in the world, reaching up to 60 metres (197 ft) tall. The coco de mer ( Lodoicea maldivica ) has the largest seeds of any plant, 40–50 centimetres (16–20 in) in diameter and weighing 15–30 kilograms (33–66 lb) each ( coconuts are

1292-683: Is possible north of subtropical climates, and some higher latitude locales such as Ireland, Scotland, England, and the Pacific Northwest feature a few palms in protected locations and microclimates . In the United States , there are at least 12 native palm species, mostly occurring in the states of the Deep South and Florida . Palms inhabit a variety of ecosystems. More than two-thirds of palm species live in humid moist forests, where some species grow tall enough to form part of

1360-617: Is processed for use as livestock feed. All modern, commercial planting material consists of tenera palms or DxP hybrids, which are obtained by crossing thickshelled dura with shell-less pisifera . Although common commercial germinated seed is as thick-shelled as the dura mother palm, the resulting palm will produce thin-shelled tenera fruit. An alternative to germinated seed, once constraints to mass production are overcome, are tissue-cultured or " clonal " palms, which provide true copies of high-yielding DxP palms. Size: 1,800 megabase . First sequence available in 2013. Diploid , with

1428-606: 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. When ripe, each bunch of fruit weighs between 5 and 30 kg (11 and 66 lb) depending on the age of the palm tree. For each hectare of oil palm, which is harvested year-round, the annual production averages 20 tonnes of fruit yielding 4,000 kg of palm oil and 750 kg of seed kernels yielding 500 kg of high-quality palm kernel oil, as well as 600 kg of kernel meal. Kernel meal

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1496-444: Is relatively big and has an individual value, information about its pest and disease status is valuable. Although visual inspection is the oldest method, others are under development or occasional use. Volatiles and microfocus X-ray fluorescence are two methods can be used to non-invasively detect pre-emergence Ganoderma orbiforme disease as a lab test. Sonic tomography is already in use with good results, at 96% accuracy. On

1564-460: Is that of a solitary shoot ending in a crown of leaves. This monopodial character may be exhibited by prostrate, trunkless, and trunk-forming members. Some common palms restricted to solitary growth include Washingtonia and Roystonea . Palms may instead grow in sparse though dense clusters. The trunk develops an axillary bud at a leaf node, usually near the base, from which a new shoot emerges. The new shoot, in turn, produces an axillary bud and

1632-560: Is the world's biggest oil palm planter, with planted area close to 900,000 hectares in Malaysia and Indonesia. Felda was formed on July 1, 1956, when the Land Development Act came into force with the main aim of eradicating poverty. Settlers were each allocated 10 acres of land (about 4 hectares ) planted either with oil palm or rubber, and given 20 years to pay off the debt for the land. Arecaceae The Arecaceae ( / ˌ ær ə ˈ k eɪ s i . iː , - ˌ aɪ / )

1700-566: The Dasypogonaceae . For a phylogenetic tree of the family, see the list of Arecaceae genera . The Arecaceae were the first modern family of monocots to appear in the fossil record around 80 million years ago (Mya), during the late Cretaceous period. The first modern species, such as Nypa fruticans and Acrocomia aculeata , appeared 69 Mya, as evidenced by fossil Nypa pollen. Palms appear to have undergone an early period of adaptive radiation . By 60 Mya, many of

1768-613: The area called Guinea , and not the modern country Guinea now bearing that name. The species is also now naturalised in Madagascar , Sri Lanka , Malaysia , Indonesia , Central America , Cambodia , the West Indies , and several islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans . The closely related American oil palm E. oleifera and a more distantly related palm, Attalea maripa , are also used to produce palm oil. E. guineensis

1836-579: The canopy and shorter ones form part of the understory . Some species form pure stands in areas with poor drainage or regular flooding, including Raphia hookeri which is common in coastal freshwater swamps in West Africa. Other palms live in tropical mountain habitats above 1 thousand metres (3 thousand feet), such as those in the genus Ceroxylon native to the Andes . Palms may also live in grasslands and scrublands, usually associated with

1904-481: The African palm pollinating weevil . Chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ) are known to use stones to crack open the nuts of E. guineensis , a rare example of tool use by animals . Grey parrots ( Psittacus erithacus ) are known to prefer oil palm fruit in the wild. One of their chief predators, the palm-nut vulture ( Gypohierax angolensis ), also heavily depends on oil palm fruit for its diet, making up over 60% of

1972-647: The Ceroxyloideae and Phytelephantoideae. Studies have suggested the lack of a fully resolved hypothesis for the relationships within the family is due to a variety of factors, including difficulties in selecting appropriate outgroups, homoplasy in morphological character states, slow rates of molecular evolution important for the use of standard DNA markers , and character polarization. However, hybridization has been observed among Orbignya and Phoenix species, and using chloroplast DNA in cladistic studies may produce inaccurate results due to maternal inheritance of

2040-574: The IUCN, and was published in 1996. The rarest palm known is Hyophorbe amaricaulis . The only living individual remains at the Botanic Gardens of Curepipe in Mauritius . Some pests are specialists to particular taxa . Pests that attack a variety of species of palms include: The palm branch was a symbol of triumph and victory in classical antiquity . The Romans rewarded champions of

2108-526: The Middle East and North Africa. A wide range of common products and foods are derived from palms. In contemporary times, palms are also widely used in landscaping. In many historical cultures, because of their importance as food, palms were symbols for such ideas as victory, peace, and fertility. The word Arecaceae is derived from the word areca with the suffix "-aceae". Areca is derived from Portuguese , via Malayalam അടയ്ക്ക ( aṭaykka ), which

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2176-774: The NN producing the best results. As of 2012 R. indica was invading the Yucatan placing 11 states of Mexico under phytosanitary vigilance . R. ferrugineus has placed 13 states of Mexico under phytosanitary vigilance. Other arthropods include: Bagworm moths (the Psychidae family), the coconut rhinoceros beetle ( Oryctes rhinoceros ), Rhynchophorus palmarum (the South American palm weevil), Tirathaba mundella (the oil palm bunch moth), and Tirathaba rufivena (the coconut spike moth). Besides direct damage to plant material, rats also predate on Elaeidobius kamerunicus ,

2244-580: The Rathayatra carts which carry the deities of Krishna and his family members in the cart festival of Jagganath Puri in India are marked with the emblem of a palm tree. Specifically it is the symbol of Krishna's brother, Baladeva. In 1840, the American geologist Edward Hitchcock (1793–1864) published the first tree-like paleontology chart in his Elementary Geology , with two separate trees of life for

2312-599: The Second World War, selection work had started in the Deli dura population in Malaya. Pollen was imported from Africa, and DxT and DxP crosses were made. Segregation of fruit forms in crosses made in the 1950s was often incorrect. In the absence of a good marker gene, there was no way of knowing whether control of pollination was adequate. After the work of Beirnaert and Vanderweyen (1941), it became feasible to monitor

2380-478: The adult bird's diet and over 90% of the juvenile bird's diet (along with Raffia palm ). Bursaphelenchus cocophilus is a nematode pest which is better known for infecting coconut palms. (It also afflicts a few other of the Arecaceae .) It causes "red ring disease", so named because it produces a red colored layer within the trunk of the tree, which looks like a red ring in a cross section cut. B. cocophilus

2448-530: The area. The sale of seeds to nurseries and collectors is another threat, as the seeds of popular palms are sometimes harvested directly from the wild. In 2006, at least 100 palm species were considered endangered, and nine species have been reported as recently extinct. However, several factors make palm conservation more difficult. Palms live in almost every type of warm habitat and have tremendous morphological diversity. Most palm seeds lose viability quickly, and they cannot be preserved in low temperatures because

2516-407: The base. The stamens generally number six, with filaments that may be separate, attached to each other, or attached to the pistil at the base. The fruit is usually a single- seeded drupe (sometimes berry-like) but some genera (e.g., Salacca ) may contain two or more seeds in each fruit. Like all monocots , palms do not have the ability to increase the width of a stem ( secondary growth ) via

2584-471: The chloroplast DNA. Chemical and molecular data from non-organelle DNA, for example, could be more effective for studying palm phylogeny. Recently, nuclear genomes and transcriptomes have been used to reconstruct the phylogeny of palms. This has revealed, for example, that a whole-genome duplication event occurred early in the evolution of the Arecaceae lineage, that was not experienced by its sister clade,

2652-503: The cold kills the embryo. Using botanical gardens for conservation also presents problems, since they can rarely house more than a few plants of any species or truly imitate the natural setting. There is also the risk that cross-pollination can lead to hybrid species. The Palm Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) began in 1984, and has performed a series of three studies to find basic information on

2720-729: The deserts, it also created a more amenable habitat for the people to live in by providing shade and protection from the desert winds. An indication of the importance of palms in ancient times is that they are mentioned more than 30 times in the Bible , and at least 22 times in the Quran . The Torah also references the "70 date palm trees", which symbolize the 70 aspects of Torah that are revealed to those who "eat of its fruit." Arecaceae have great economic importance, including coconut products, oils, dates, palm syrup , ivory nuts, carnauba wax, rattan cane, raffia, and palm wood . This family supplies

2788-411: The distribution of water and other nutrients to the top of the palm. Ganoderma infection is well defined by its lesion in the stem. The cross-section of infected palm stem shows that the lesion appears as a light brown area of rotting tissue with a distinctive, irregularly shaped, darker band at the borders of this area. The infected tissue become as an ashen-grey powdery and if the palm remains standing,

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2856-458: The dura and pisifera to give the thin-shelled tenera fruit type improved partitioning of dry matter within the fruit, giving a 30% increase in oil yield at the expense of shell, without changing total dry matter production." Cros et al. , 2014 find genomic selection is very effective in this crop. In 2013, the gene responsible for controlling shell thickness was discovered, making it possible to verify tenera (DxP) status while palms are still in

2924-400: The early 1990s by inoculating oil palm seedling roots or by using rubber wood blocks. A reliable and quick technique was developed for testing the pathogenicity of the fungus by inoculating oil palm germinated seeds. This fatal disease can lead to losses as much as 80% after repeated planting cycles. Ganoderma produces enzymes that degrade the infected xylem, thus causing serious problems to

2992-435: The efficacy of controlled pollination. From 1963 until the introduction of the palm-pollinating weevil Elaeidobius kamerunicus in 1982, contamination in Malaysia's commercial plantings was generally low. Thrips, the main pollinating agent at that time, apparently rarely gained access to bagged female inflorescences. However, E. kamerunicus is much more persistent, and after it was introduced, Deli dura contamination became

3060-673: The games and celebrated military successes with palm branches. Early Christians used the palm branch to symbolize the victory of the faithful over enemies of the soul, as in the Palm Sunday festival celebrating the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem . In Judaism , the palm represents peace and plenty, and is one of the Four Species of Sukkot ; the palm may also symbolize the Tree of Life in Kabbalah . The canopies of

3128-428: The glasshouse for their efficacy in enhancing growth and subsequent suppression of the spread of BSR in oil palm seedlings. Little leaf syndrome has not been fully explained, but has often been confused with boron deficiency. The growing point is damaged, sometimes by Oryctes beetles. Small, distorted leaves resembling those due to a boron deficiency emerge. This is often followed by secondary pathogenic infections in

3196-500: The habitat, and those with small habitat ranges are most vulnerable to them. The harvesting of heart of palm, a delicacy in salads, also poses a threat because it is derived from the palm's apical meristem , a vital part of the palm that cannot be regrown (except in domesticated varieties, e.g. of peach palm ). The use of rattan palms in furniture has caused a major population decrease in these species that has negatively affected local and international markets, as well as biodiversity in

3264-432: The history of the Middle East and North Africa. In the text "Date Palm Products" (1993), W.H. Barreveld wrote: One could go as far as to say that, had the date palm not existed, the expansion of the human race into the hot and barren parts of the "old" world would have been much more restricted. The date palm not only provided a concentrated energy food, which could be easily stored and carried along on long journeys across

3332-603: The host. Introducing endophytic bacteria to the roots to control plant disease is to manipulate the indigenous bacterial communities of the roots in a manner, which leads to enhanced suppression of soil-borne pathogens. The use of endophytic bacteria should thus be preferred to other biological control agents, as they are internal colonizers, with better ability to compete within the vascular systems, limiting Ganoderma for both nutrients and space during its proliferation. Two bacterial isolates, Burkholderia cepacia (B3) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P3) were selected for evaluation in

3400-486: The infected trunk rapidly becomes hollow. In a 2007 study in Portugal, scientists suggested control of the fungus on oil palms would benefit from further consideration of the process as one of white rot. Ganoderma is an extraordinary organism capable exclusively of degrading lignin to carbon dioxide and water; celluloses are then available as nutrients for the fungus. It is necessary to consider this mode of attack as

3468-688: The introduced population was not too inbred , and inbreeding depression was not the cause of some incidences of lessened fruit set in SEA. Other causes have been proposed. E. kamerunicus and the pollination it provides can be negatively affected by nematodes . Worldwide the two most impactful diseases are Ganoderma orbiforme (syn. Ganoderma boninense , basal stem rot, BSR, reviewed by Chong et al. , 2017) and Phytophthora palmivora (bud rot, reviewed by Torres et al. 2016). The earliest stages of data gathering and investigation have been performed for disease resistance breeding however propagation material

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3536-694: The modern phylogenomic data, the Phytelephantoideae are tribe in the Ceroxyloideae subfamily. Currently, few extensive phylogenetic studies of the Arecaceae exist. In 1997, Baker et al. explored subfamily and tribe relationships using chloroplast DNA from 60 genera from all subfamilies and tribes. The results strongly showed the Calamoideae are monophyletic, and Ceroxyloideae and Coryphoideae are paraphyletic. The relationships of Arecoideae are uncertain, but they are possibly related to

3604-660: The modern, specialized genera of palms appeared and became widespread and common, much more widespread than their range today. Because palms separated from the monocots earlier than other families, they developed more intrafamilial specialization and diversity. By tracing back these diverse characteristics of palms to the basic structures of monocots, palms may be valuable in studying monocot evolution. Several species of palms have been identified from flowers preserved in amber, including Palaeoraphe dominicana and Roystonea palaea . Fossil evidence of them can also be found in samples of petrified palmwood . The relationship between

3672-695: The nursery. The DEFICIENS gene regulates floral architecture . One of its epialleles , Bad Karma , reduces yield. E. guineensis is almost entirely pollinated by insects and not by wind. Elaeidobius kamerunicus is the most specially adapted pollination partner in Africa. It has been deliberately introduced into southeast Asia in 1981 and the results have been dramatic – Cik Mohd Rizuan et al., 2013 find good results in Felda Sahabat  [ my ] in Sabah . Contrary to earlier speculation,

3740-563: The other hand satellite imagery and computer vision has low classification accuracy as to severity. Oil palms were introduced to Java by the Dutch in 1848, and to Malaysia (then the British colony of Malaya ) in 1910 by Scotsman William Sime and English banker Henry Darby. The species of palm tree Elaeis guineensis was taken to Malaysia from Eastern Nigeria in 1961. As noted it originally grew in West Africa. The southern coast of Nigeria

3808-508: The plants and the animals. These are crowned (graphically) with the Palms and with Man. Today, the palm, especially the coconut palm, remains a symbol of the tropical island paradise . Palms appear on the flags and seals of several places where they are native, including those of Haiti , Guam , Saudi Arabia , Florida , and South Carolina . Some species commonly called palms, though they are not true palms, include: Banting Among

3876-399: The same kind of vascular cambium found in non-monocot woody plants . This explains the cylindrical shape of the trunk (almost constant diameter) that is often seen in palms, unlike in ring -forming trees. However, many palms, like some other monocots, do have secondary growth, although because it does not arise from a single vascular cambium producing xylem inwards and phloem outwards, it

3944-486: The second largest). Raffia palms ( Raphia spp.) have the largest leaves of any plant, up to 25 metres (82 ft) long and 3 metres (10 ft) wide. The Corypha species have the largest inflorescence of any plant, up to 7.5 metres (25 ft) tall and containing millions of small flowers. Calamus stems can reach 200 metres (656 ft) in length. Most palms are native to tropical and subtropical climates. Palms thrive in moist and hot climates but can be found in

4012-792: The spear that can lead to spear rot and palm death. Cadang-cadang disease is a viral disease that also infects coconuts . Red ring disease is caused by Bursaphelenchus cocophilus , see §Nematode pests below. Besides direct damage to plant material, insects are also vectors of oil palm diseases. M. plana is a Lepidopteran moth and a major pest of oil palms in Malaysia . M. plana outbreaks in Malaysia are highly correlated with relative humidity . Relative humidity estimates based on satellite remote sensing data were fed into both regression models and neural networks . The predictions of both were found to be closely correlated with actual M. plana appearance on plantations, with

4080-485: The status of palms in the wild, use of wild palms, and palms under cultivation. Two projects on palm conservation and use supported by the World Wildlife Fund took place from 1985 to 1990 and 1986–1991, in the American tropics and southeast Asia, respectively. Both studies produced copious new data and publications on palms. Preparation of a global action plan for palm conservation began in 1991, supported by

4148-411: The stem. The leaves have a tubular sheath at the base that usually splits open on one side at maturity. The inflorescence is a spadix or spike surrounded by one or more bracts or spathes that become woody at maturity. The flowers are generally small and white, radially symmetric, and can be either uni- or bisexual. The sepals and petals usually number three each and may be distinct or joined at

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4216-482: The subfamilies is shown in the following cladogram: Calamoideae Nypoideae Coryphoideae Ceroxyloideae Arecoideae Evidence for cultivation of the date palm by Mesopotamians and other Middle Eastern peoples exists from more than 5,000 years ago, in the form of date wood, pits for storing dates, and other remains of the date palm in Mesopotamian sites. The date palm had a significant effect on

4284-484: The top of an unbranched stem, except for the Hyphaene genus, who has branched palms. However, palms exhibit an enormous diversity in physical characteristics and inhabit nearly every type of habitat within their range, from rainforests to deserts . Palms are among the best known and most extensively cultivated plant families. They have been important to humans throughout much of history, especially in regions like

4352-647: The tropics, mostly in humid lowland subtropical climates, in highlands in southern Asia, and along the rim lands of the Mediterranean Sea . The northernmost native palm is Chamaerops humilis , which reaches 44°N latitude along the coast of Liguria , Italy . In the southern hemisphere, the southernmost palm is the Rhopalostylis sapida , which reaches 44°S on the Chatham Islands where an oceanic climate prevails. Cultivation of palms

4420-426: The world. Along with dates mentioned above, members of the palm family with human uses are numerous: Like many other plants, palms have been threatened by human intervention and exploitation . The greatest risk to palms is destruction of habitat , especially in the tropical forests , due to urbanization , wood-chipping , mining , and conversion to farmland . Palms rarely reproduce after such great changes in

4488-708: Was domesticated in West Africa along the south-facing Atlantic coast. There is insufficient documentation and as of 2019 insufficient research to make any guesses as to when this occurred. Human use of oil palms may date as far back as 5,000 years in Egypt; in the late 1800s, archaeologists discovered palm oil in a tomb at Abydos, Egypt dating back to 3000 BCE . It is the principal source of palm oil . Oil palms can produce much more oil per unit of land area than most other oil-producing plants (about nine times more than soy and 4.5 times more than rapeseed ). E. guineensis

4556-547: Was introduced as a decorative plant in public gardens, its Khmer name is dôô:ng préing (doong=palm, preing=oil). In Malaysia, the first plantations were mostly established and operated by British plantation owners, such as Sime Darby and Boustead , and remained listed in London until the Malaysian government engineered their "Malaysianisation" throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Federal Land Development Authority (Felda)

4624-574: Was originally called the Palm oil coast by the first Europeans who arrived there and traded in the commodity. This area was later renamed the Bight of Biafra. In traditional African medicine different parts of the plant are used as laxative and diuretic , as a poison antidote, as a cure for gonorrhea , menorrhagia , and bronchitis , to treat headaches and rheumatism , to promote healing of fresh wounds and treat skin infections. In Yoruba religion , it

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