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SEED OILS 101 
Genus ELAEIS 
ELAEIS GUINEENSIS Jacq. OIL PALM. 
PALM OIL 
This species yields two kinds of oil, known as palm oil and 
palm-kernel oil. Palm oil is obtained from the fleshy part of 
the fruit while the palm-kernel oil is expressed from the kernels. 
The uses of palm-kernel oil, for edible and technical purposes, 
are increasing considerably and the consumption of palm oil is 
also increasing. 
Palm oil is used chiefly for the manufacture of soaps and can- 
dles. It consists principally of palmitin and olein. Nordlinger * 
says that 98 per cent of the solid, fatty acids of palm oil is 
palmitic acid. The fresh oil has an agreeable odor, a bright 
orange color, and a consistency somewhat like that of butter. 
It is used as an edible fat by the natives of Africa. 
Palm-kernel oil has a white or slightly yellow color. It has 
a composition which is quite different from palm oil and resem- 
bles coconut oil in its general composition, but contains a some- 
what lower proportion of the glycerides of the lower fatty acids. 
The better grades are used for making vegetable butter, and the 
lower grades for soap manufacture. 
The oil palm occurs naturally in immense numbers along the 
west coast of Africa. According to Hubert + the annual exports 
of oil and kernels from tropical Africa exceed in value forty 
million dollars. The oil palm grows well in the Philippine 
Islands and apparently produces fruit abundantly. It is not 
known to be attacked by any insects, fungi, or bacteria. Large 
plantations of oil palms are now being started in Sumatra and — 
the Malay Peninsula. The cultivation of this plant in some 
parts of the Philippines would probably be advisable. 
Family HERNANDIACEAE 
Genus HERNANDIA 
HERNANDIA OVIGERA (peltata) L. KORON-KORON. 
Local names: Koron-kéron (Camarines) ; pantog-lobo (Tayabas). 
HERNANDIA OVIGERA OIL os 
According to Heyne,t a fat used in lamps and for making 
candles is obtained from the fruits. 
Hernandia ovigera is a small to medium-sized tree. The 

* Nordlinger, Zeitschrift fiir angewandte Chemie, 1892, page 111. 
+ Hubert, P., Le palmier a huile. 
~ Heyne, K., De Nuttige Planten van Nederlandsch-Indié, Volume 2 
(1916), page 177. 
