Babassu

Related species
Description and phenology
Distribution, abundance and ecology
Uses and economic potential
Chemical analyses
Yields, harvesting and processing methods
Propagation and cultivation methods
Research contacts

Michael J. Balick & Claudio U. B. Pinheiro

Family: Palmae

Species: Orbignya phalerata Martius

Synonyms: O. martiana Barbosa Rodrigues, O. barbosiana Burret, O. speciosa (Martius) Barbosa Rodrigues.

Common names: babaçu or babassu (from the Tupi-Guarani: ba = fruit; açu = large) in Brazil; cusi in Bolivia (Anderson et al. 1991).

Related species

Orbignya oleifera Burret is found in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais and Bahia, where it is basically a subsistence oil crop. It is vegetatively similar to babassu (see below), although with fewer leaves. O. oleifera has a higher sex ratio (more female inflorescences), resulting in greater fruit yields (» 5 MT/ha/yr vs » 1.5 MT/ha/yr for O. phalerata), and a higher kernel to fruit ratio (10-22% vs 7%), resulting in significantly higher estimated oil yields (0.5-1.1 MT/ha/yr vs 0.1 MT/ha/yr).

Orbignya cohune (Martius) Dahlgren is found in Mexico and Central America, where it is called corozo. It is widely used as a subsistence oil crop and is occasionally processed for local markets. It is vegetatively similar to babassu (see below), but has a much smaller fruit with a thinner endocarp and generally only two seeds, which are much easier to extract.

Both species have potential for hybridization with O. phalerata to introduce such useful traits as high sex ratio (O. oleifera), high kernel to fruit ratio (both), and thin endocarp (O. cohune). A natural hybrid between Attalea compta and Orbignya oleifera has been identified in Santa Fé, Minas Gerais. This has been described as Attabignya minarum Balick, Anderson, and Medeiros-Costa (1987).

Description and phenology

The babassu is a solitary stemmed palm, with stem diameter varying from 20 to 50 cm and attaining up to 30+ m in height. The crown contains 10-25 erectly arching pinnate leaves. The leaf sheath varies from 40 to 120 cm in length, the petiole from 10 to 40 cm, and the leaf rachis from 550 to 850 cm. There are 300-400 leaflets along the rachis, each 20 to 185 cm long by 1 to 6 cm wide depending upon position and tree health and age.

The inflorescences are androdioecious [either exclusively staminate (male) or androgynous (staminate and pistillate (female) together], one arising from the axil of each leaf, although occasional abortions occur. Before anthesis, the inflorescence is covered by a woody bract that splits open along the lower side to release the inflorescence. The peduncle and the main bunch rachis are 50-180 cm long. In staminate inflorescences, there are 270-400 rachillae, each bearing 15-100 staminate flowers. In androgynous inflorescences, there are 320470 rachillae, each bearing 1-2 (rarely 3) pistillate flowers and one to several staminate flowers that are frequently aborted.

The fruits are broadly elliptic to oblong, 6-13 cm long, 4-10 cm wide and weighing 40-440 g (dry weight). The epicarp is fibrous and 1-4 mm thick. The mesocarp is mealy, dry, and 2-12 mm thick. The endocarp is woody, 35-75 mm in diameter, and contains 3-6 ovate to elliptic seeds (rarely only one or two, or more than six, up to eleven), each 3-6 cm long, with an oily white endosperm.

Babassu has a consistent phenology over a wide range. Leaf emergence and flowering occurs during the local rainy season, followed approximately nine months later by fruit ripening and leaf senescence and loss (Anderson et al. 1991).

Distribution, abundance and ecology

The babassu is widely distributed along the southern edges of Amazônia from the Atlantic Ocean to Bolivia, as well as throughout eastern and central Amazônia and northward to the Guianas.

The babassu zones of southeastern Amazônia especially Maranhão and Piauí, are areas of extremely high abundance of this palm. Anderson et al. (1991) report abundances of 10,000 palms per hectare, although the vast majority of these are seedlings and stemless juveniles. Fruiting palms can number 100-200/ha. These authors emphasize that the babassu zones are directly related to human activities in the area, as the babassu is an especially vigorous colonizer of disturbed sites. The babassu zones currently occupy 100-150,000 km² along the southeastern fringes of Amazônia, especially Maranhão, Piauí, Goiás and Tocantins states in Brazil, and are probably expanding in most areas as human activity degrades previously forested land (Table 1).

Table 1. Babassu coverage and estimated productivity and fruit production in the states of Maranhão (MA), Piauí (PI), Goiás (GO)* and Mato Grosso (MT) (MIC/STI 1982).

* The state of Goiás is now divided into two states: Goiás and Tocantins.

In primary forest in southeastern Amazônia there may be as many seedlings and stemless juveniles, but the mature, fruiting palms are rarer (» 50/ha) because they require the occasional forest gap to attain sufficient stature to receive enough light to fruit. In other parts of Amazônia however, the babassu is less abundant, possibly because soils are generally poorer than in Maranhão or because local ecotypes are less vigorous.

The babassu has extremely wide ecological tolerances, although the babassu zones tend to be found in areas with favorable soils and climate. In the cerrados (semi-forested savannas), the babassu grows with an average rainfall of 1200+ mm and six months or more of drought. While it occurs on well to excessively well-drained upland soils, it is more abundant (forming babassu zones) in the gallery forests along water courses, where it can easily obtain sufficient moisture. In the forested parts of its distribution, the babassu grows with 1500-2500 mm mean rainfall and six months or less of drought. It grows on both upland and valley soils, forming babassu zones where soil characteristics and human activities are favorable. Although it occurs in ecosystems characterized by severe flooding, eg. the wetlands or baixada of Maranhão, it is limited to non-flooded elevations in these areas.

Uses and economic potential

Principal use and market value
Secondary uses and market, potential

During this century, the babassu has become an important subsistence resource in southeastern Amazônia, especially in Maranhão and Piauí, Brazil. A minimum of 300,000 families harvest babassu in Maranhão, and are often dependent upon this activity for their economic survival. All parts of the plant are used in the rural household subsistence economy (Table 2). Although it is extremely important in rural areas, it is difficult to quantify its economic value because most of the uses cited are subsistence-based. May (1986) offered a conservative estimate of an annual combined economic and subsistence value in Maranhão of US$ 85 million.

Principal use and market value

The kernel contains 60-70% of a vegetable oil rich in lauric acid, similar in composition to that of coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) or African oil palm kernel (Elaeis guineensis Jacq) (Pesce 1985). Unfortunately, only 6-10% (mean 7%) of fresh fruit weight is kernel, so oil yields are low (90-150 kg/ha/yr). Nonetheless, at least 85,000 MT of babassu kernel oil were obtained yearly during the 1970's in Maranhão.

Pesce (1985) states that babassu kernel oil first became an important commodity during World War I, when other sources of vegetable oil became scarce in Europe. At that time it was used principally as an edible oil, both for making margarine and as a cooking oil. Anderson et al. (1991) showed that babassu kernel exports peaked during World War II, at 40,000 MT (» 26,000 MT oil), and fell to zero by the mid-1960's. Occasional exports are still processed if international prices are attractive. In the mid-1980's, for example, there was a shortage of coconut oil and some babassu oil was exported at » US$ 1,000 to US$ 1,200 per MT. When coconut oil markets returned to normal, babassu ceased to be exported again. As can be seen in Figure 1, production and exports of babassu oil are extremely variable, due to linkage with the world market for coconut oil.

After 1965, the Brazilian soap and cosmetic industries absorbed all babassu oil production (peak production of = 150,000 MT in 1985). Currently babassu oil remains Brazil's most important source of lauric acid oils, although the industries in southern Brazil have successfully lobbied the government to liberate the importation of coconut and African oil palm kernel oils because sources of babassu oil are more expensive than alternative oils, less reliably obtained and starting to become scarcer as the babassu zones are privatized and/or eliminated in Maranhão and elsewhere.

Table 2. Subsistence uses of the babassu palm (adapted from May et al. 1985).

Secondary uses and market, potential

The most important "secondary use" of babassu today is for the preparation of charcoal from the fruit endocarp. This charcoal is of exceptionally high quality, being a suitable substitute for high-quality metallurgical coking coal (Table 3).

This high-quality charcoal is an important fuel in the babassu zone. An average family uses 500 kg/yr, obtained from 1.7 ha of babassu zone. If babassu is unavailable, the same family would need 3.2 m³ of fuelwood, which, ideally, would come from a sustained-yield timber plot devoted to this purpose. Unfortunately, this type of timber plot does not exist to day in most places in Amazônia or the Brazilian northeast, so that primary or secondary forests will be degraded in order to supply this wood.

This charcoal has potential for the pig-iron foundries now established along the Carajás-São Luis railroad. The loss of primary and secondary forest around these foundries is already serious and growing rapidly. If babassu were sown to provide this charcoal in the future, it would both enhance employment opportunities in the region and provide a sustainable yield of charcoal. Whether the babassu can yield enough to make this idea attractive to Vale de Rio Doce and the private foundries remains to be seen.

Table 3. Comparison of babassu charcoal and two sources of high quality metallurgical coal (Anderson et al. 1991, Pesce 1985).

Babassu charcoal has at least one disadvantage, however, it is fine-grained. Thus it requires pressing and gluing into briquettes for shipping and use. If the charcoal is prepared in steel kilns, however, numerous byproducts are obtained, such as tar, methanol and acetates. The tar can be used to bind the charcoal grains into briquettes. The other by-products have potential markets, both in Brazil and internationally (Anderson et al. 1991; IPT 1979).

Pesce (1985) considered babassu mesocarp to have great potential as a starch source, as 60+% of the dry mesocarp is starch. Anderson et al. (1991), however, mention babassu starch only as a minor product, useful in animal feeds or as a raw material for fermentation to alcohol. An additional use, as medicine for a variety of ailments (Table 2), is also possible. Pharmacological studies recently undertaken by Maia and Rao (1989) demonstrated that in rats the mesocarp powder possesses anti-inflammatory properties.

José Mário F. Frazão, of EMAPA, in São Luis, Maranhão has recently developed a simple tool for extracting the palm heart from stemless juvenile plants, of which thousands exist in a babassu zone. The palm heart of babassu is bone white and has a slightly sweet, very agreeable flavor, which suggests that this product has potential in a managed babassu zone.

Chemical analyses

As can be seen from Table 4, babassu oil is remarkably similar in its chemical and physical properties to coconut oil. This similarity allows for the use of babassu oils in cosmetics, confections, etc. where coconut oil has been traditionally used.

Table 4. Chemical Composition and Properties of Coconut and Babassu Oils (Source: Eckey, 1954).