Attalea speciosa (Babassu, Babassu palm, Babaçu, Cusi; syn. Orbignya phalerata, Orbignya martiana Barb.Rodr., Orbygnia speciosa (Mart. ex Spreng.) Barb.Rodr.) is a palm native to the Amazon Rainforest region in South America. The Babassu palm is the predominant species in the Maranhão Babaçu forests of Maranhão and Piauí states.
This plant has a commercial value because its seeds produce an edible oil which is known as babassu oil, which is also used in cleaners and skin care products. The fruit is used to produce products such as medicines, beauty aids, and beverages. Traditional communities of the Maranhão region also extract from the fruit a form of flour that is used and commercialized as a nutritional complement. The leaves are even used to provide thatch for houses and can be woven into mats for constructing house walls. The stems are used for timbers. The Babassu palm is also considered as a weed in pasture areas of Cerrado vegetation in Brazil.
Its fruits and leaves are one of the main materials used by the artisans of Tocantins (Brazil) to manufacture different products very appreciated by tourists.
Biofuel
In February 2008, Babassu Palm oil was used in a blend with Coconut oil and jet fuel to power one engine of a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 during a flight test.See also
- List of plants of Amazon Rainforest vegetation of Brazil
- Taquarussu.com Artesanato de Taquarussu (Tocantins)
External links
- Orbignya phalerata
- CIRAD-FLHOR/IPGRI Project for Neotropical Fruits: Orbignya phalerata
- Árboles en España: Manual de Identificación: Orbignya phalerata
- One Planet episode on babassu cultivation from the BBC
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Tuesday October 07, 2008 at 23:50:53 PDT (GMT -0700)
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