Carapa

For the Italian wine grape variety also known as Carapa, see Bombino bianco.

Carapa is a genus of flowering plants in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. These are trees up to 30 meters tall occurring in tropical South America, Central America,^[1] and Africa. Common names include andiroba and crabwood.

Carapa
Carapa guianensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Meliaceae
Subfamily:	Cedreloideae
Genus:	Carapa Aubl.
Species
See text
Range of Carapa guianensis

Diversity

The list of species within this genus is still under discussion. Generally recognized species are:

• Carapa guianensis (andiroba, crabwood): Amazon Region, Central America, Caribbean
• Carapa megistocarpa (tangare): Ecuador
• Carapa procera (African crabwood, kowi, okoto): West Africa, the Congos

Other proposed species:

• Carapa akuri^[2]
• Carapa alticola^[3]
• Carapa longipetala^[3]
• Carapa nicaraguensis
• Carapa vasquezii^[4]

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 oil similar^{[clarification needed]} to neem oil.

The oil contained in the almond andiroba is light yellow and extremely bitter. When subjected to a temperature below 25 °C, it solidifies producing a consistency like that of petroleum jelly. The oil contains olein, palmitine and glycerin.^{[citation needed]}

Andiroba oil is one of the most commonly sold medicinal oils in the Amazon.^{[citation needed]} It is also used to repel mosquitoes by forming an oilseed cake into balls and burned, or mixed with annatto (Bixa orellana) and formed into a paste applied topically to protect the body from mosquito bites.^[5]

Andiroba oil is extracted from light brown seeds collected from beaches and rivers, where they float after being shed by the trees or from the forest ground.

Crabwood virgin oil