Attalea is a genus of large Neotropical palms, including Attalea cohune and A. colenda, used as a source of palm oils. Cohune oil, from Central American stands, resembles coconut oil in its high lauric acid content and has served local cooking and soap-making traditions for generations. Babassu, another important oil palm, belongs to this genus as well. These palms illustrate the diversity of oil-bearing species beyond the African oil palm, supporting rural economies with edible and industrial oils. Like all palm oils, their quality depends on prompt processing of the fruits after harvest, since delays allow lipase activity and microbial growth that raise free fatty acids and spoil flavour.