656.000 Elaeis Jacq. - Oil palms

Mbandu Luzolawo, P., Lubini Ayingweu, C, Mogue Kamga, S. & Stauffer, F.W. (2020) Palmae Flore d'Afrique Centrale Nouvelle Serie Jardin Botanique Meise, Belgique

Description of the genus

Monoecious trees. Leaves large; petiole base armed with sharp teeth; lamina pinnate; leaflets Λ-shaped in cross-section; lower leaflets with spine-like midribs. Inflorescences mostly unisexual, branched with a short peduncle, the flower-bearing branches very crowded and congested among the leaf sheaths. Male flowers solitary; sepals 3; petals 3; stamens 6, united basally. Female flowers much larger than male, usually forming a triad with 2 abortive male flowers; sepals 3; petals 3; stigmas 3, fleshy and conspicuous; ovary 3-locular. Fruit shiny, with a conspicuous 3-pored stone.

Derivation of name: Derived from elaion, the Greek word for oil

Worldwide: 2 species; one in Africa and Madagascar, the other in eastern S America

Rwanda: 1 cultivated taxon.

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Links to cultivated taxa    View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesContent
guineensis Jacq.Description, Image

Other sources of information about Elaeis:

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Elaeis
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Elaeis
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Elaeis
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Elaeis
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Elaeis
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Elaeis
JSTOR Plant Science: Elaeis
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Elaeis
Plants of the World Online: Elaeis
Tropicos: Elaeis
Wikipedia: Elaeis

Copyright: The Rwanda flora team, 2024-26

The Rwanda flora team (2026). Flora of Rwanda: Cultivated plants: Genus page: Elaeis.
https://www.rwandaflora.com/cult/genus.php?genus_id=1885, retrieved 17 June 2026

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