198.11 JOHNSON:PALMS OF GUINEA'BISSAU i'' :nci pes, 2B(4), 1984, PP. 155- J62 Notes on the Palms of Guinea-Bissau

DsNNrsV. JoHNsoN 3311 StanJbrd St., Hyattsuille, MD 2O783, U.S.A

Remote and lesser-known countries hold types of palms. The contrast is strikingly a certain fascination {or the visitor because shownby the fact that Cuba has a greater there is a sense of discovery in observing diversity of palms than continental Africa how people live and make use of their (Corner 1966). But what may be lacking natural environment. Guinea-Bissau, in diversity is, at least in West Africa, tt'edged between Senegal and Guinea in more than compensatedfor by the sheer West Africa, is such a place' Formerly numbersof palms.They representa com- Portuguese Guinea, this small nation is mon element of the vegetation landscape. about equal in area to the states of Mas- Most prevalent is the African oil palm iachusetts and Connecticut. (Elaeis guineensis),certainly as useful a The literature on African vegetation plant in West Africa as the is in commonly mentions the paucity of palm Polynesia.This holds true for Guinea-Bis- genera and species in this the Iargest trop- sau. Of secondaryimportance is the Afri- ical area of the world (see Tomlinson can fan palm (Borossusaethiopum), found 1962). Although smaller in area, tropical throughout the continent. Asia and tropical America each has more I had the goodfortune of spendingthree

Subspontaneous oil palms amid and adjacent to rice fields near Saucunda PRINCIPES [\'or. 28

2. Utensils used for simple manual extraction of on a farm near Bafat6. months in Guinea-Bissauin 1982, work- stands. The palm's resistaoce to 6re, ing as a consultant on an agricultural extensively used in land clearing and for developmentproject in the central part of weed control, also gives it an advantage the country. I took the opportunity to col- over other woody species. 'the lect some notes on palm products, partic- Oil palms in Guinea-Bissau are of ular\ those from the two mentioned above. dura Iype, which have large kernels and low to medium mesocarp content. Esti- mates place the area under oil palm ln *1s African Oil Palm country at about 100,000 ha. This figure This pinnate-leafed palm has a dual role is for natural stands; formal plantations do in the Guinea-Bissaueconomy in that it not exist. provides a major export (kernefs)and fur- Apart from a single industrial pahn oil nishespalm oil, and other prod- processing plant in Bubaque, on one of ucts for local consumption. Oil palrns are the offshoreislands, the extraction ofpalrn abundant in the littoral zone, on the off- oil is a simple cottage industry solely for shore islands and in the river valleys. the domestic market. Palm oil is derived Becauseof the long associationwith human from the mesocarp pulp of the fruit, has activities, it is impossibleto determine the a reddish-orangecolor becauseit is rich precise ecologicalniche of this palm any- in carotene and is locally known as che- where in West Africa. For that reason it beu. The kernel contains a clear oil des- is most often describedas being subspon- ignated in the trade as . tan€ous. When forests containing oil palms Figure 2 shows some of the utensils used are cleared for agriculture, the palms are in the manual extraction process. Fruit commonly left standing (Fig. I). Over bunchesare harvested and transported to generations,and if allowed to regenerate a local processing site. The fruits are naturally, the palrns form nearly pure removed from the bunches, loaded into JOHNSON:PALMS OF GUINEA.BISSAU 157

3. Oil palm kernels drying in the sun wreathed by empty fruit bunches on a farm near Bafat6

Lareebaskets such as the one in the fore- country to express the palm kernel oil. sr;und of the photograph, and dumPed Productionof palm kernels in 1982 was into used oil drums of boiling water. After estimatedto be 10,000 mt; that of palm beine cooked for a few hours, the fruits oil 5,500 mt (FAO I983). rre iemorred from the water, pounded to The tapping of oil palms for palm wine break up the pulp, and then returned to is commonplace in Guinea-Bissau and the boiling water. The oil separatesfrom throughout West Africa. Palm wine is the the pulp and floats to the top where it is usual designation for the which fer- skimmed off. The pans in the photograph ments very quickly into a weak alcoholic are used to transport the pulp and the beverage. This is equiYalentto the palm palm oil. The crude oil is filtered of impur- toddy of Asia. ities and soldin various-sizedrecycled glass Oil palms selectedfor tapping must be bottles. This is the traditional cleared of dead leaves to permit easy of the country and is also said to have accessto the male inflorescences'A small cosmetic and medicinal applications. incision is made in an unopened inflores- Most of the pulp having been removed cence and a receptaclepositioned below it during the extraction of palm oil, the to collect the sap. A small funnel is made remaining seedsare spread in the sun to from a palm leaflet and placed in the neck dry and then more commonly cracked by of the bottle to direct the dripping sap. hand to remove the kernels. Mechanized The man pictured in Figure 4 is ready to shellingby means of a small portable gas- climb a palm with the aid of a beltlike oline-poweredmachine is now being done device and empty the glassbottles of palm to an undetermineddegree in Guinea-Bis- wine. The more traditional receptacle in sau. The extracted kernels are dried in Guinea-Bissauis a clay boIIle (moringo) the sun (FiS. 3) and exported. There is (Fig. 5). The bottle rests in a sling made not the industrial capacity within the of oil palm leaf fiber. The two loose ends PRINCIPES [Vor. 28

4. Tapper preparing to climb an oil palm near Sau- cunoa.

5. Clay bottle suspendedin its sling made of oil palm leaf fiber for palm wine collection near Bafat6.

6. Clay bottles attached to an oil palm for wine collection near Bafat5 LrB1l JOHNSON:PALMS OF GUINEA-BISSAU

7. Oil palm trunks used for bridge construction near Jabicunda of the sling are fastened around the inflo- up the trunk a short distance. Then, lean- rescence to hold the bottle in place. ing back against the belt, walks an equal The beltlike device for climbing oil distance up the rough trunk. The knot is palms in Guinea-Bissau (Fig. ) deserves secure enough that when he reaches the further elaboration. Just as a paratrooper crown the tapper can have both hands folds his own parachute, tradition has it free for work. Anyone who has seen an that the palm wine tapper fashions his own electrician ascend a wooden utility pole belt, which is made from a fresh oil palm using a belt and spikes attached leaf. The midrib is stripped and bent to to his shoes can visualize the process of give it an elliptical shape. One end of the collecting palm wine. A belt made from midrib is cut thin and flexible with a thick an oil palm leaf midrib lasts about one oiece left at the extreme end to facilitate month. iying it to the opposite end where the mid- On one of my field trips I was able to rib fibers have been separated and braided borrow a belt and, to the great amusement into a rope about 60 cm long. These ends of those assembled,made a shaky but suc- are on the left side of the belt. Where the cessful ascent of an oil palm. Quite taken belt comes in contact with the trunk it by the ingenuity of the belts, I later had often is wrapped with extra fiber to reduce one made. It, along with a clay bottle in wear. To climb a tree the tapper loops one a sling, occupies a prominent place on the end of the belt around the trunk and the wall of my office. other around his lower back, and secures Palm wine yields vary considerably, but the two ends. Grasping the sides of the I was told that 10-15 liters per day per belt, he leans forward and jumps the belt tree was about average. The oil palms are I60 PRINCIPES lVoL.28

8. African fan palms in the village of Nhacra.

tapped only during the dry seasonwhen program to produce commercially and the sap yield is sufficient to justify the market palm wine, although the technol- labor. Inflorescencetapping decreasesthe ogy has been developedin Nigeria. There, tree's fruit yield, but apparently does not the bottling and preservationof palm wine do any permanentdamage. Palm wine has was investigated by Levi and Oruche a milky appearance because of its high (1957); a study of palm wine production yeast content. The taste is pleasant. I was carried out by Tuley (1965); the sampledit on several occasions'underdif- Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research ferent circumstancesand found it best just conducted experiments on tapping palms after being collected (fermentation occurs in the late 1960s and early 1970s; and within the receptacle on the tree) and at the potential for improving traditional oil ambient temperature. Within a few hours palm wine production was the subject of palm wine becomes unpleasantly bitter. a recent article by Okereke (1982). This beverageis popular among non-Mos- Other uses of the oil palm in Guinea- lemsin the rural areasand is a goodsource Bissauinclude weaving coarse baskets and of vitamin B complex. ln 1982 a liter of mats from the leaves. These also are palm wine cost the equivalent of 40 cents. employed for thatching and to make It is not marketed in any organized fash- fences.Small bridges are constructedwith ion. Becauseofits high yeast content, palm oil palm trunks (Fig. 7). The palm heart wine is used in making leavenedbread. is eaten when trees are felled. W'eaver- In Guinea-Bissauthere is no current birds like the oil palm and use the leaflets aR-!l JOHNSON:PALMS OF GUINEA.BISSAU I6I t,: build their distinctive suspendednests. mature trees, possibly becauseit is they The oil palm is normally unbranched, but which furnish the best wood. rI somephysical damage causes it to fork, :uch a tree in West Africa is thought to OtherPalms (Gledhill I972). lrave taboo properties At least three other palm genera may be native to Guinea-Bissau.Raffia palms (tara) grow along the coast accordingto Mota (1954). Basedupon the distribution African Fan Palm of Raphia.species provided by Russell In Guinea-Bissau,this attractive palm (1964), R. palma-pinus and R. sudanica has the vernacular narne cibe. Although may be represented. I was unable to rt is not a source of oil, it furnishes other investigateutilization of raffia palms; how- lroducts similar to thosefrom the oil palm- in Nigeria, the palms are tapped for 'fhe ever, classicsavanna palm of Africa, it can wine and, in the l9th century, oil was be found growingin closeproximity to the extracted from the fruit pulp on a small ,ril oalm in Guinea-Bissau.The number of scale.Raffia oil is similar in quality to palm \frican fan palms within the country has oil and has the sameuses (Otedoh 1974). beenreduced significantly through a com- The coastalforests of Guinea-Bissaualso bination of land clearing, cutting the tree probably harbor climbing , although ior its wood and insect pests which have I have no confirmation of this. The geo- becomemore severeas a result of upset- graphicrange of Laccosperma(Ancistro- ting the ecologicalbalance by removal of phyllum) secund'if.orum and, Calamus the natural forest (Castel-Branco and deeratus reported by Irvine (1961) sug- Tordo I956). A few relatively young palms gests that they may be found within the are shown in Figure 8. country. For purposesof weaving and thatching, have been in West Africa -{frican fan palm leavesare the preferred since their l6th-century introduction by type. Quality hats,baskets and pursesare the Portuguese, and probably reached rvovenfrom the leaves and command the Guinea-Bissauas early as any place in the highestprices on local markets. The entire region. This palm is cultivated informally leaf is employed in thatching, frequently in the coastal region of the country. as the supporting layer for the traditional Husked coconutsare sold in local markets erass roofs. I have seen individuals car- and copra made for export. Production of iying freshly-cut leaves as rain umbrellas coconuts in l9B2 was estimatedto be and the leaves spread over char6oal to 25,000 mt and copra production 5,000 keep it from getting wet. mt (FAO 1983). The African fan palm bears green fruits which are about the size of an orange. Acknowledgments When immature, the so{t endospermcan I wish to thank M6rio Samba Embal6 be eaten raw and the mesocarppulp sliced for helping arrange visits to areas of palm and cooked. The pulp of the ripe fruit is oil processing and palm wine collection, eaten fresh. When felled, the palm heart and Kit Macy for obtaining elusive docu- is extracted from the trunk and eaten. ments about the oil Thesepalms also are tapped for palm wine Palm. in the same manner as described for the Lltnn.truno Crrno oil palm. Exploitation of this palm is not as widespreadas it once was, due to their C,rsrrr-.BReNco,A. J.F. exnG. C. ToRDo. 1956. reduced numbers. I saw relatively few tall Acerca do equilibrio bioecol6gico dos povoa- r62 PRINCIPES lVoL. 28

"cibes" mentos de Borassus ssp. na Guin6 Por- More, A. T. DA. 1954. Guin6 Portuguesa. 2 vols. tuguesa.Estudos, Ensaios e Documentos26, 68 Ag6ncia Geral do Ultramar, Lisbon. pp. Junta de Investigag6esdo Ultramar, Lisbon. OrrRun, O. 1982. The traditional system of oil Conxrn, E. J. H. 1966. The natural history of palm wine production in Igbo Eze local govern- palms. University of California Press, Berkeley. ment area of Anambra state of Nigeria. Agri- FAO. 1983. FAO productionyearbook 1982. vol. cultural Systems9: 239-253. 36. Food and Agriculture Organization of the OtnooH, M. O. 1974. Raphia oil: its extrabrion, United Nations, Rome. properties and utilization. Journal Nigerian Grnnsrlr, D. 1972. West African trees. Long. Institute Oil Palm Research5(I9): 45-49. man, London. Russrlr, T. A. 1964. The Raphia palms of West IRVINE,F. R. 1961. Woody plants of Ghana. Afrisa. Kew Bulletin 19: t73-I96. Oxford University Press, London. ToMLINSoN,P. B. 1962. Pahns of Africa. Prin. Lrvt, S. S. eNo C. B. ORUcHE. 1957. The pres- cioes6: 96*I03. ervation and bottling of palm wine. Research Turrv, P. 1965. Studieson the productionofwine Report No. l, Federal Institute of Industrial from the oil palm. Journal Nigerian Institute Oil Research, Lagos. Palm Research 4(I5\: 284-289.

Principes,28i@41,1984, p. 162

PALMLITERATURE

McCoy, R. E. (ed.) Lethal Yellowing of Strong evidence now supports the the- Palms.Bulletin 834, 100 pp. Institute sis that a planthopper (Myndus crudus) of Food and Agricultural Sciences,Uni- is lhe insect vector of the disease.Rec- versity of Florida,Gainesville. 1983. ommendationsfor control include eradi- cation of diseasedpalms, Several articles on lethal yellowing have antibiotic treat- ment of infectedtrees while resistant appearedtn Principes since an epidemic palms are establishedto replace of the diseaseoccurred in southern Flor- them, and con- tainment of the disease.The ida in the early 1970s. A seriousthreat latter is not encouragingas lethal to plantations of tall varieties of coconut yellowing was iden- tified in the Yucatan Peninsula throughout the world, Iethal yellowing also of Mexico in 1982. However,any success attacks more than two dozen other eco- in slowing the spread will nomic and ornamental Dalms. permii more research t; be completed and allow for This book drawstogelher the resultsof substitution of resistant palms in threatened areas. a decbdeof researchinto the originocause The authors are to be consratulated and control of lethal yellowing. Ten sci- on this excellent study of such entists who worked on the problem in a-seriouspalm disease. Florida are listed as coauthors. The book is divided into seven chapters and hand- DeNNlsJouNsoN somely illustrated with 34 figures, includ- ing 2l color photographs. It contains an extensivebibliography of 176 references.