Fevillea-a new oil seed from Amazonian Peru

Abstract

Fevillea is a small neotropical liana genus of the Cucurbitaceae that is well known ethnobotanically as having seeds with purgative and emetic properties. We report here the unusually high oil content of its seeds, first called to our attention by their use as candles by the Campa Indians in Amazonian Peru.Fevillea fruits apparently have a higher seed oil content than do those of any other dicotyledon. We suggest that, if the naturally occurring lianas in an uncut rainforest were all replaced byFevillea vines producing at normal levels, a per hectare oil yield comparable to those obtained in the most productive oil-seed plantations might be expected—without cutting a single tree. DifferentFevillea species have different seed-oil compositions and different ecological requirements, suggesting that appropriate breeding and agronomic development could lead to their use as new oil crops grown under a wide variety of tropical situations.