Babassu oil

Babassu palm & babassu nut

The Brazilian babassu palm (Attalea speciosa), belongs to the Arecaceae family, which grows in the Amaznas region of South America. The single-stem palm can reach a height of up to 30 metres and a trunk diameter of up to 50 cm. 12-20 leaves are arranged on the crown of the palm tree and grow between six and nine meters long. A palm tree bears between one and eight hanging inflorescences up to one meter long. These reach a length of up to two metres and a diameter of 20 cm. They consist of male or hermaphroditic flowers. The male flowers can produce up to 400 branches, each of which bears 15-100 individual flowers. The hermaphrodite inflorescences can have more branches, each of these branches carries male and female flowers. The hard-shelled babassu nut resembles the coconut visually with its brownish colour, but is only 10-12 cm long. The flesh, which can weigh up to 250 g, is mealy. Inside the fruit there are three to six seeds with a length of 3 to 6 cm. Among the indigenous cultures in the Amazon valleys, the Babassu Palm is also called the "tree of life". Native women, the quebradeiras de coco, collect the fallen wild fruit in the palm forests and crack it with an upturned axe or wooden club, because the nut is one of the hardest nuts in the world.

The babassu palm grows in good soil with high rainfall of 1500 to 2500 mm per year. If it occurs in dry areas, then along the course of rivers. However, the babassu palm does not tolerate flooding. Under optimal conditions, the babassu palm can live up to 200 years.