Elaeis oleifera is a species of palm commonly called the American oil palm. It is native to South and Central America from Honduras to northern Brazil.Bailey, Liberty Hyde. 1933. Gentes Herbarum; Occasional Papers on the Kinds of Plants 3(2): 59, f. 32, 35–40, Corozo oleiferaCortés, Santiago. 1897. Flora de Colombia : comprende la geografia botanica de Colombia, las leguminosas, la flora terapiutica, 1: 203, Elaeis oleiferaKunth, Karl Sigismund. 1816. Nova Genera et Species Plantarum (quarto ed.) 1: 307, Alfonsia oleifera
Unlike its relative Elaeis guineensis, the African oil palm, it is rarely planted commercially to produce palm oil, but hybrids between the two species are, mainly in efforts to provide disease resistance and to increase the proportion of unsaturated fatty acids in the oil.
References