Limnanthes alba

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Meadowfoam
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Brassicales
Family: Limnanthaceae
Genus: Limnanthes
Species: L. alba
Binomial name
Limnanthes alba
Benth.

Meadowfoam (Limnanthes alba) is a low growing herbaceous winter annual that is adapted to poorly drained soils. It is the source of meadowfoam seed oil that is very similar to whale oil, derived from sperm whales. The oil from meadowfoam seeds has unique chemical properties that make it one of the most stable vegetable oils known. Meadowfoam is very susceptible to the Botrytis cinerea fungus; commercial crops were devastated during the 1982–1984 growing seasons.

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