Common name
English: African Oil Palm
German: Afrikanische Ölpalme
Portuguese: Dendezeiro, Palmeira-de-óleo-africana
English: African Oil Palm
German: Afrikanische Ölpalme
Portuguese: Dendezeiro, Palmeira-de-óleo-africana
Kingdom: Plantae (2715)
Phylum: Tracheophyta (2630)
Class: Liliopsida (397)
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
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.
Check for Elaeis guineensis at
World Flora Online, GBIF or IPNI