Systematics and Economic Botany of the Oenocarpus- Jessenia (Palmae) Complex. 1986. (Adv.Econ.Bot., vol. 3). 19 tabs. 77 figs. 1 portr. 140 p. gr8vo. Paper bd.

The Palms in the Oenocarpus-Jessenia complex are commonly used bypeople throughout the northern half of lowland South America to producefood, fiber, shelter, fuel and medicine. The oil contained in themesocarp of the fruit is physically and chemically identical to oliveoil. The mesocarp is also processed into a nutritious, widely-consumedbeverage. These palms grow in environments generally not suited forconventional agriculture, and thus hold potential as oilseed crops forcultivation elsewhere in the tropics. Balick's work is a synthesis ofknown and new information about the ethnobotany, nutritional value,chemotaxonomy and morphology of these genera, and provides a taxonomicrevision of the group.