| Pentaclethra | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Mimosoideae |
| Tribe: | Mimoseae |
| Genus: | Pentaclethra |
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Pentaclethra macroloba |
|
Pentaclethra is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the sub family Mimosoideae. Some genus members occur in the Cental American region; for example P. macroloba is the dominant tree in certain seasonal swamp forests in coastal areas of the Isthmian-Atlantic moist forests.(C.Michael Hogan. 2008)
Pentaclethra macroloba or Oil Tree is native to the wet tropical areas around the north eastern part of South America. Pracaxi oil (Pracaxi being the Portuguese name of the tree) comes from its seeds, and has one of the highest concentrations of behenic acid among natural products. For this reason, it is often used in hair conditioners.
C.Michael Hogan. 2008. Isthmian-Atlantic moist forests. Encyclopedia of Earth and World Wildlife Fund National Council of Science and the Environment, eds. Mark Mcginley and Cutler Cleveland