Elaeis guineensis originally grew in West Africa. The southern coast of Nigeria was originally called the Palm oil coast by the first Europeans who arrived there and traded in the commodity. This area was later renamed the Bight of Biafra. In traditional African medicine different parts of the plant are used as laxative and diuretic, as a poison antidote, as a cure for gonorrhea, menorrhagia, and bronchitis, to treat headaches and rheumatism, to promote healing of fresh wounds and treat skin infections. In Malaysia, the first plantations were mostly established and operated by British plantation owners, such as Sime Darby and Boustead,
Elaeis guineensis point is damaged, sometimes by "Oryctes" beetles. Small, distorted leaves resembling a boron deficiency emerge. This is often followed by secondary pathogenic infections in the spear that can lead to spear rot and palm death. "Elaeis guineensis" originated in Guinea, Africa and was first illustrated by Nicholaas Jacquin in 1763. Oil palms were introduced to Java by the Dutch in 1848, and to Malaysia (then the British colony of Malaya) in 1910 by Scotsman William Sime and English banker Henry Darby. The species of palm tree "Elaeis guineensis" was taken to Malaysia from Eastern Nigeria in 1961. As noted it