Attalea maripa

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Figure 1. A. maripa

Synonymy:

Maximiliana maripa

Common Names:

American oil palm,
Maripa (local name),
Naj" (local name)

Conservation Status:

Not threatened.

Distribution & Habitat:

Is found in coastal swamps and lowlands throughout northeastern South America east of the Andes and Trinidad.

Description:

A large, solitary, feather palm to 20m tall with "shuttle cock" style leaves. It has fruit creamy-yellow oblong fruit which has a very high oil content

General:

Grown commercially for its oil, and is currently being investigated for its suitability for biodiesel production.

Culture:

Sunny well drained position. Frost sensitive.

Figure 2. A. maripa looking into the crown.

Figure 3. A. maripa

Contributed by:

Evandro Ferreira (Figure 1,2&3)

External Links:

Kew, PalmWeb, JSTOR, Trebrown

Google, GoogleImages, Flickr, PalmTalk