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''Copernicia prunifera'' or the carnaúba palm or carnaubeira palm () is a
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
palm tree The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...
native to northeastern
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
(mainly the states of Ceará, Piauí, Maranhão, Rio Grande do Norte and Bahia). Known by many as 'tree of life' because of its many uses, the Carnaúba is also the symbol tree of
Ceará Ceará (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the ...
. The initiative to use it as a symbol vies to promote its conservation and sustainable use.


Plant description

''Copernica prunifera'' can grow up to 20 m height with an average 25 cm diameter trunk, circular tree crown, with fan-leaves measuring 1.5 m, bisexual flowers and small black round fruits (2.5 cm). The palm can live up to 200 years. Although it withstands drought well, it has a high water requirement for growth. A slightly saline composition in the soil produces the best trees. Carnaubas are social palm trees, they are found in Carnaubais (assembly/group of Carnaubas) in flood zones or near rivers. Taxonomically, this tree belongs to the subfamily Coryphoideae, tribe Corypheae, subtribe Livistoninae.


Biodiversity

The Carnauba palm tree is an endemic species to the
Caatinga Caatinga (, ) is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation" (''caa'' = forest, v ...
, an exclusive Brazilian biome, comprising a total area of 826,411 km². The latter is present in eight of the nine Northeastern states: Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraiba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia, and it is also present in a northern strip of Minas Gerais. Caatinga covers approximately 10% of the national territory and 70% of the Northeast region, and borders with three other biomes in the country, the
Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...
, the
Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...
, and
Cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are t ...
savanna. A semiarid climate prevails in the Caatinga, with approximately 800 mm of poorly distributed rainfall per year, resulting in long periods of drought. The carnauba palm tree, is an easily adaptable species and, thus, is spread over large territories, greatly impacting the locations. Besides economic and cultural impacts, it has a remarkable ecological influence of this northeastern palm on the environments. The fact that the carnauba palm tree is a species that grows along rivers and streams in general, helps to prevent siltation in the water bodies and to control soil erosion in the areas where it is located. The fruits of the carnauba palm tree serve as food for animals such as bats, pigs, wild hogs and some Psittacidae (parrots and parakeets), one of the best assisting factors in spreading the seeds of this species. Bees also consume nectar and pollen from its flowers to make honey, helping to pollinate this species. Nevertheless, the relationship between the carnauba palm tree and animals is not limited to feeding, but is also related to aiding migration processes and balancing the ecosystem. Birds, for example, often use this palm tree to nest and rest when flocking.


Uses

It is the source of
carnauba wax Carnauba (; pt, carnaúba ), also called Brazil wax and palm wax, is a wax of the leaves of the carnauba palm ''Copernicia prunifera'' (synonym: ''Copernicia cerifera''), a plant native to and grown only in the northeastern Brazilian states of C ...
, which is harvested as a natural coating from the surface of the leaves of the tree. The fruit and pith are eaten, the leaves are variously utilized and the wood is a construction material.


Edible parts

Carnauba produces several materials that have versatile applications. Its fruits can be used as feed to cattle, donkeys, goats and pigs or can also be used to produce jelly for human consumption. The pulp is extracted and dried to produce carnauba flour, largely consumed by natives. Cooking oil can be extracted from the seeds, which are also edible. When roasted, fruits are ground and brewed to replace coffee.


Carnauba wax

The most important product of the Carnauba tree is the wax extracted from its leaves. It can be used in floor, leather, furniture, car and shoe polish, and is used in the manufacture of carbon paper, candles, chalk, matches, soap and woodwork stains. It consists of myricyl cerotate and small quantities of cerotic acid and myricyl alcohol. After harvesting, the leaves are left upon the field to dry under the sun. The thin layer of wax coating plant material disintegrates into a powder, which is then separated through beating and whisking the dried leaves. The powder is concentrated in a mortar, to be mixed with water and melted to produce liquid wax. After drying it is concentrated into chunks and sold.


Leaf fibers

The leaf fibers are a byproduct of the wax production, known as "bagana". The biomass can be used as compost, soil coverage to maintain humidity, or compressed into biofuel briquettes with a high energy content for power generation. The leaf fibers, or "palha", are also woven in the manufacture of objects such as hats, baskets, bags and many other domestic products (Steinle and Johnson, 1935; Duke and duCellier). These handicraft products are beloved by tourists and represent an important source of income to the local population. The wax palm leaves can also be used in rustic roof making.


Wood

Due to the natural resistance against the most common wood pests, such as termites, Carnauba Wood is a valued local construction material. Although it is mainly used by people with low income, its function in beach tents – not only as central pillar/column/post, but also as the leaf roof – is very common.


Cultivation

It withstands drought well. A slightly saline composition in the soil produces the best trees.


Harvest

To produce wax, harvesting operations have to be employed during the dry season to assure complete drying of the leaves. The harvest is normally done from August to December. However, during periods of longer winters, the harvest may be delayed. A Carnuaba palm tree can produce up to 60 leaves per plant, especially after a very intense rainy season. Harvested with a long pole ending in a hooked blade (Figure 1), the top leaves are removed for superior wax content. To maintain sustainable production of Carnauba, cuttings are performed three times a year, in 80 day intervals from each tree. Production of Carnauba-derived materials dropped in the beginning of the 1970s, especially due to the invention of synthetic and
petroleum product Petroleum products are materials derived from crude oil (petroleum) as it is processed in oil refineries. Unlike petrochemicals, which are a collection of well-defined usually pure organic compounds, petroleum products are complex mixtures. The m ...
s. Since then, the production has increased in the beginning of the 2000s and reached around 20,000 tons of powder and around 2,500 tons of wax, which has been sustained since then.


Economy

Carnauba economical activity includes the extraction and utilization of
leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
,
stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...
,
tale Tale may refer to: * Narrative, or story, a report of real or imaginary connected events * TAL effector (TALE), a type of DNA binding protein * Tale, Albania, a resort town * Tale, Iran, a village * Tale, Maharashtra, a village in Ratnagiri distri ...
and
fibre Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...
,
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
s and
root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...
s. These materials are all manufactured into crafted and industrialized products. However, the powder used in wax production is the most profitable part of the plant due to great market interest. The production of Carnauba is mainly found in Northeastern
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, especially in the
Rio Grande do Norte Rio Grande do Norte (, , ) is one of the states of Brazil. It is located in the northeastern region of the country, forming the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. The name literally translates as "Great Northern River", ref ...
state (5%),
Ceará Ceará (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the ...
state (35%) and in
Piauí Piaui (, ) is one of the states of Brazil, located in the country's Northeast Region. The state has 1.6% of the Brazilian population and produces 0.7% of the Brazilian GDP. Piaui has the shortest coastline of any coastal Brazilian state at 66&n ...
state (45%). Brazil is the only exporting country, and the main importers are
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and also
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
.


Gallery

Image:Coperniciaprunifera.JPG, Leaf crown Image:Trunkandboots.JPG, Trunk covered in adherent leaf sheaths and fibers which shed with age Image:CoperniciaArmedpetioles.JPG, Armed petioles - note orange banding along center Image:Copernicia_prunifera.JPG


Notes


References

*


External links


Good Practices Manual for the Carnauba supply chain
- Associacao Caatinga/BMU-IKI/GIZ (2019)
Plants that changed history
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1043918 prunifera Trees of Brazil