High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Elaeis guineensis is a species of palm commonly called African oil palm or macaw-fat. It is the principal source of palm oil. It is native to west and southwest Africa, occurring between Angola and Gambia; the species name guineensis refers to one of its countries of origin, Guinea. The closely related American oil palm Elaeis oleifera is also used to a lesser extent to produce palm oil, and a more distantly related palm Attalea maripa is another oil-producing palm.