Is this Elaeis oleifera or Elaeis guineensis?

[Gunnar Hillert]

Back in 2019, I bought a labelled Elaeis oleifera from the amazing Garret Webb here in Kona (Big Island of Hawaii). Over the years it became a little monster and this year, it started to flower and fruit. So far so good. Coincidentally, I was traveling along the southern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica this summer and saw many Elaeis oleifera along the coast BUT the fruit are all orange 😳. Mine are universally black. Was mine mislabelled and is in fact Elaeis guineensis? Here are some pictures. THANKS for any insights. My palm is a double (there is a smaller sibling to the right). Crazy how fast it has grown, certainly one of my faster ones.

[idontknowhatnametuse]

Looks like E. guineensis to me

[idontknowhatnametuse]

An easy way to distinguish them is their fruit. Oleifera has red fruit and Guineensis has black/dark fruit

[Fusca]

@Gunnar Hillert, it might very well be guineensis but I don't know if fruit color is a distinguishing characteristic.  I've seen several Elaeis in Brasil and a few in the US and all had red/orange fruits.  Some I have seen had black and red fruits on the same infructescence so it's possible that the fruits on yours will turn red over time as they continue to ripen.  In Palmpedia there's no mention of black fruit color for E. oleifera but in this description for E. guineensis:

The fruit coat colour varies from yellow to orange or nearly black. Four oil palm varieties have been distinguished on the basis of the fruit structure, especially the thickness of the endocarp: E. g. var. macrocarpa with 40-60% shell, E. guineensis var. dura with 20-40% shell, E. g. var. tenera with 5-20% shell and E. guineensis var. pisifera, a shelless form. The generic name comes from the Greek word ‘elaion’ (oil), referring to the oil extracted from the palm. (Borchsenius, F. 1998)/Palmweb.

[Dr. George]

Aloha Gunnar

I also bought a couple of Elaeis oleifera from Garrett - 5 gal size in 2009. When they first started to flower they did not set seed. Then after a couple of years they started setting seed but the seeds were black. Then several years later the new seeds started turning orange. Pics below taken today.

gmp

 

 

 

 

 

[Gunnar Hillert]

It is now December and the seeds finally turn orange!! 🥳 Amazing how long it took!!