Attalea maripa

Welcome to the PACSOA Palms and Cycads wiki ! If you have any information about this plant, please help by updating this article. Once you are registered you can contribute, change, or correct the text, and even add photos on this page. Click on the edit tab above and play around. Any mistake can be easily corrected, so don't be afraid.

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 (click here for his blog (in Portuguese)) (Figure 1,2&3)

External Links:

Kew, PalmWeb, JSTOR, Trebrown

Google, Google Images, Flickr, PACSOA Forums, PalmTalk