Carapa

Crabwood redirects here. It may also refer to members of the genus Gymnanthes.

Carapa guianensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Meliaceae
Genus:	Carapa Aubl.
Species
See text.

Carapa is a genus in the mahogany family Meliaceae. The c. 25 species become medium-sized to large trees to 30 m tall, occurring in tropical South America and Africa; common names for include Andiroba and Crabwood.

Species

A recent PhD dissertation by David Kenfack [1] (2008) revolutionized the taxonomy of the genus Carapa with a renewed classification using both old and new species names. See more at [www.carapa.org]

Formerly, only the three species mentioned here below were accepted; it is now ca. 25 proposed species, among them 12 new species which will be soon released in scientific journals.

• Carapa guianensis
• Carapa megistocarpa
• Carapa procera

Currently, it is thus hazardous to use the above-cited species names without appropriate identification and fertile plant collections. For instance, C. guianensis (4-merous type flowers) and C. procera (5-merous type flowers) are complex of species in America and Africa, respectively.

Certification of natural oil therefore now required additional investigation to ensure that species name is correctly mentioned on packaging. Indeed, in 99,9 % percent (not to say 100 %) the name C. guianensis is mentioned for andiroba or carapa oil, and this might be wrong depending on location of harvested seeds. Oil quality might also differ depending on tree species and country or region of origin.

Uses

The timber is important, and oil is produced from the seeds. The name andiroba is from Nheengatu nhandi rob, meaning "bitter oil". Carapa guianensis produces seeds which oil is similar in properties to neem oil. The name Touloucouna also means bitter oil in Western Africa.

External links

• New Carapa website
• Old Carapa website, still live
• FAO factsheet