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Argan

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Plants

                    iArgan
   Foliage, flowers and immature fruit
   Foliage, flowers and immature fruit
           Scientific classification

   Kingdom:  Plantae
   Division: Magnoliophyta
   Class:    Magnoliopsida
   Order:    Ericales
   Family:   Sapotaceae
   Genus:    Argania
             Roem. & Schult.
   Species:  A. spinosa

                                Binomial name

   Argania spinosa
   (L.) Skeels

   The Argan (Argania spinosa, syn. A. sideroxylon Roem. & Schult.) is a
   species of tree endemic to the calcareous semi-desert Sous valley of
   southwestern Morocco. It is the sole species in the genus Argania.
   Argan tree
   Enlarge
   Argan tree

   Argan grows to 8-10 metres high, and live to 150-200 years old. They
   are thorny, with gnarled trunks. The leaves are small, 2-4 cm long,
   oval with a rounded apex. The flowers are small, with five pale
   yellow-green petals; flowering is in April. The fruit is 2-4 cm long
   and 1.5-3 cm broad, with a thick, bitter peel surrounding a
   sweet-smelling but unpleasantly flavoured layer of pulpy pericarp. This
   surrounds the very hard nut, which contains one (occasionally two or
   three) small, oil-rich seeds. The fruit takes over a year to mature,
   ripening in June to July of the following year.

   The arganeraie forests now cover some 828,000 ha and are designated as
   a UNESCO Biosphere reserve. Their area has shrunk by about 50% over the
   last 100 years, owing to charcoal-making, grazing, and increasingly
   intensive cultivation. The best hope for the conservation of the trees
   may lie in the recent development of a thriving export market for argan
   oil as a high-value product.

Uses

   Argan savanna northeast of Taroudant
   Enlarge
   Argan savanna northeast of Taroudant

   In some parts of Morocco, Argan takes the place of the Olive as a
   source of forage, oil, timber and fuel in Berber society. Especially
   near Essaouira, the argan tree is frequently climbed by goats .

   Fruit

   The average fruit yield per tree is 8kg per year. The fruits fall in
   July, when black and dry; until that time, goats are kept out of the
   argan woodlands by wardens. Rights to collect fruit are closely
   controlled by law and by village traditions. The leaves are an
   important browse after harvest. Fruits were and sometimes are gathered
   after consumption by goats (nimble climbers in argan trees), but this
   is not the case for oil produced for human consumption; the resultant
   product will taste unpleasantly (Nouaim 2005).

   Argan oil

   Argan oil is produced by several women's co-operatives in the region.
   The most labour intensive part of oil-extraction is removal of the soft
   pulp (used as animal feed) and the cracking by hand, between two
   stones, of the hard nut. The seeds are then removed and gently roasted.
   This roasting accounts for part of the oil's distinctive, nutty
   flavour. The traditional technique for oil extraction is to grind the
   roasted seeds to paste, with a little water, in a stone rotary quern.
   The paste is then squeezed between hands to extract the oil. The
   extracted paste is still oil-rich and is used as animal feed. Oil
   produced by this method will keep 3-6 months, and will be produced as
   needed in a family, from a store of the kernels, which will keep for 20
   years unopened. Dry-pressing is now increasingly important for oil
   produced for sale, as the oil will keep 12-18 months and extraction is
   much faster.

   The oil contains 80% unsaturated fatty acids, is rich in essential
   fatty acids and is more resistant to oxidation than olive oil. Argan
   oil is used for dipping bread, on couscous, salads and similar uses. A
   dip for bread known as amlou is made from argan oil, almonds and
   peanuts, sometimes sweetened by honey or sugar. The unroasted oil is
   traditionally used as a treatment for skin diseases, and has found
   favour with European cosmetics manufacturers.

   Argan oil is sold in Morocco as a luxury item (although difficult to
   find outside the region of production), and is of increasing interest
   to cosmetics companies in Europe. It was very difficult to buy the oil
   outside Morocco, but in 2001-2002 argan oil suddenly became a
   fashionable food in Europe and North America. It is now widely
   available in specialist shops and, sometimes, in supermarkets. Its
   price (USD20-30 for 250 ml) reflects the labour needed for processing,
   but a little argan oil goes a long way.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argan"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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