Elaeis guineensis N. Jacquin, Arecaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 10 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: African oil palm, oil palm

French: palmier à huile, palmier à huile d'Afrique

Japanese: opiriyasi

Maori (Cook Islands): nū tāmara

Pohnpeian: nihn ahprika

Spanish: palma Africana

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Trunk stout, solitary, covered by the persistent leaf-bases above, bare below, there dark gray-brown, ringed. Leaves large, pinnate, the lower segments as spines on the petiole margin; segments many, irregularly divergent, somewhat fascicled in 4's or 5's; inflorescence large, headlike, with spinose tipped branches borne close to the trunk, among the leaves" (Stone, 1970; p. 139).

"Tall palm, 8.3-20 m tall, erect, heavy, trunks ringed; monoecious, male and female flowers in separate clusters, but on same tree; trunk to 20 m tall, usually less, 30 cm in diameter, leaf-bases adhere; petioles 1.3-2.3 m long, 12.5-20 cm wide, saw-toothed, broadened at base, fibrous, green; blade pinnate, 3.3-5 m long, with 100-150 pairs of leaflets; leaflets 60-120 cm long, 3.5-5 cm broad; central nerve very strong, especially at base, green on both surfaces; flower-stalks from lower leaf-axils, 10-30 cm long and broad; male flowers on short furry branches 10-15 cm long, set close to trunk on short pedicels; female flowers and consequently fruits in large clusters of 200-300, close to trunk on short heavy pedicels, each fruit plum-like, ovoid-oblong to 3.5 cm long and about 2 cm wide, black when ripe, red at base, with thick ivory-white flesh and small cavity in center; nuts encased in a fibrous covering which contains the oil. About 5 female inflorescences are produced per year; each inflorescence weighing about 8 kg, the fruits weighing about 3.5 g each." (Duke, 1983)

Habitat/ecology:  Cultivated for oil from the fruits. May escape cultivation and naturalize.

Propagation:  Seeds.

Native range:  Africa.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Mangaia Island		McCormack, Gerald (2011) Cultivated?
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Federated States of Micronesia Chuuk Islands	Dublon (Tonowas) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 83)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 83)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2000) (p. 90)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Falanruw, Marjorie (1999) (p. 4)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced cultivated	Glassman, S. F. (1952) (p. 110)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (p. 36) Voucher cited: F.R. Fosberg 58396 (BISH) Naturalized
Fiji Fiji Islands	Fiji Islands	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 438)
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Mangareva (Gambier) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 12)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 371) Voucher cited: Moore 488
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe/Hodel, Donald R. (2008) (p. 75) Naturalized.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 371) Voucher cited: Grant 4350
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe/Hodel, Donald R. (2008) (p. 75) Naturalized in the low elevation Fautaua Valley.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 139) May no longer be present.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 83)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced cultivated	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2011) Reported present in the National Tropical Botanical Garden but no voucher specimen.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced cultivated	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2011) Reported present in the Harold L. Lyon Arboretum. Foster Botanical Garden and Waimea Arboretum & Botanical Garden but no voucher specimen.
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Jaluit (Jãlwõj) Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 83)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 111) Voucher cited: MacKee 38348
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 266) Voucher cited: CHR 170311
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2000) (p. 23)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 83)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 101)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie (2009) (p. 19)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 83)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 97)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie (2009) (p. 19)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced cultivated	Merrill, Elmer D. (1925) (p. 170) Cultivated for ornamental purposes and producing fruits abundantly.
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 70)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Shine, C./Reaser, J. K./Gutierrez, A. T., eds. (2003) (p. 166) Potential invader.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 38) Cultivated only

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Christmas Island Group	Christmas Island	introduced cultivated	Swarbrick, J. T. (1997) (p. 113)
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced cultivated	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe/Hodel, Donald R. (2008) (p. 76)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced cultivated	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe/Hodel, Donald R. (2008) (p. 76)
French Territory of Mayotte Mayotte Islands	Mayotte Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Comité français de l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature en France (2010) Envahissant principalement dans les milieux perturbés.

Comments:  Southeastern Brazil (Silvia Ziller, communication to Aliens listserver).

Control:  Physical. Cut down.

Additional information:
Information from the Purdue University NewCROP web site.
Information from the World Agroforestry Centre's AgroForestryTree Database.
Information from the Global Invasive Species Database.

Additional online information about Elaeis guineensis is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Elaeis guineensis as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Elaeis guineensis may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Comité français de l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature en France. 2010. Les espéces envahissantes en outre-mer (online resource).

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1987. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian monocotyledonae. Micronesica 20:1-126.

Glassman, S. F. 1952. The flora of Ponape. Bishop Mus. Bull. 209: 1-152.

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. 2010. Checklist of the vascular plants of Pohnpei with local names and uses. Allertonia, in press. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 146 pp.

Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2011. Annotated Checklist of Cultivated Plants of Hawai‘i (online searchable database).

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

McCormack, Gerald. 2011. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1925. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 1 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 463 pp.

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2000. Preliminary review of the invasive plants in the Pacific islands (SPREP Member Countries). In: Sherley, G. (tech. ed.). Invasive species in the Pacific: A technical review and draft regional strategy. South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Samoa. 190 pp.

Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe/Hodel, Donald R. 2008. Time Bombs in Gardens: Invasive Ornamental Palms in Tropical Islands, with Emphasis on French Polynesia (Pacific Ocean) and the Mascarenes (Indian Ocean). Palms; Journal of the International Palm Society 52: 23-35. .

Shine, C./Reaser, J. K./Gutierrez, A. T., eds. 2003. Invasive alien species in the Austral-Pacific Region: National Reports & Directory of Resources. Global Invasive Species Programme, Cape Town, South Africa. 185 pp.

Smith, Albert C. 1979. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 1. 494 pp.

Space, James C./Falanruw, Marjorie. 1999. Observations on invasive plant species in Micronesia. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. Report to the Pacific Islands Committee, Council of Western State Foresters. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 32 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2000. Report to the Government of Niue on invasive plant species of environmental concern.  USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 34 pp.

Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie. 2009. Report to the Republic of Palau: 2008 update on Invasive Plant Species. USDA Forest Service, Hilo, Hawai‘i. 227 pp.

Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar. 2003. Report to the Republic of Palau on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 174 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

Swarbrick, J. T. 1997. Environmental weeds and exotic plants on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean: a report to Parks Australia. 101 pp. plus appendix.

Sykes, W. R. 1970. Contributions to the flora of Niue. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 200, Wellington. 321 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.