Knowra Elaeis guineensis Elaeis guineensis Elaeis guineensis is a tropical African palm cultivated for clusters of oil-rich fruits. Its fleshy mesocarp yields palm oil, while its kernels yield palm-kernel oil.
Oil palm fruit : The fruit of an oil palm, with an oily fleshy mesocarp surrounding a hard shell and kernel. Its mesocarp and kernel are the separate sources of the palm’s two commercial oils.
Palm oil production : The cultivation and processing of oil-palm fruit to extract crude palm oil and related products. Harvesting and milling convert its fruit into the oil traded worldwide.
Deforestation in Indonesia : The clearing of Indonesian forests for agriculture, infrastructure, logging, and other land uses. Oil-palm expansion has been one driver of forest loss in Indonesia.
West African oil palm use : The long-standing cultivation and use of oil-palm fruits by communities in West Africa. The species originated in Africa, where people used its oils and other parts before global plantation agriculture.
Sustainable palm oil : Palm oil produced under standards intended to reduce environmental harm and protect workers and communities. Its standards address whether this species can supply oil without unacceptable social and ecological costs.
Palm oil : An edible vegetable oil extracted from the fleshy mesocarp of oil-palm fruit. It comes from the fruit’s outer flesh, not from the kernel.
Palm oil milling : The industrial processing of oil-palm fruit bunches to extract crude palm oil and kernels. Milling separates the fleshy fruit from kernels and recovers their oils.
Peatland drainage : The removal of water from peat soils, often to make land available for agriculture or development. Drained peatlands planted with oil palms can release large stores of carbon.
Oil palm introduction to Southeast Asia : The transfer of African oil-palm planting material to Southeast Asia in the nineteenth century. This introduction began the geographic shift that made Southeast Asia the crop’s main production region.
Oil palm yield improvement : Efforts to increase oil production per unit of land through genetics, agronomy, and improved processing. Higher yields could reduce pressure to clear additional land, if gains do not encourage further expansion.
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