Camelina Sativa
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''Camelina sativa'' is a
flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
in the family
Brassicaceae Brassicaceae () or (the older but equally valid) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important Family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous pla ...
usually known as camelina, gold-of-pleasure, or false flax, but also occasionally as wild flax, linseed dodder, German sesame, or Siberian oilseed. It is native to Europe and areas of
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
, but cultivated as an
oilseed Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of edible plants. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed ...
crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. In other words, a crop is a plant or plant product that is grown for a specific purpose such as food, Fiber, fibre, or fuel. When plants of the same spe ...
mainly in Europe and in North America. It is not related to true
flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...
, in the family Linaceae.


Description

As a summer or winter
annual plant An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. Globally, 6% of all plant species and 15% of herbaceous plants (excluding trees and shrubs) are ...
, camelina grows to heights of , with branching stems which become woody at maturity. The leaves are
alternate Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an alternative to mainstream superh ...
on the stem,
lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...
with a length from and a width of . Leaves and stems may be partially hairy. It blooms in the UK, between June and July. Its abundant, four-petaled flowers are pale yellow in colour, and cross-shaped. Later, it produces a
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
which is pear shaped with a short beak. The seeds are brown, or orange in colour and a length of . The 1,000-seed weight ranges from . File:Brassicaceae spp Sturm30.jpg, Illustration of ''C. sativa'' (1) and ''Subularia aquatica'' (2) from ' File:Camelina sativa MHNT.BOT.2018.6.15.jpg, ''Camelina sativa'' museum specimen


Distribution

Today, camelina is found, wild or cultivated, in almost all regions of Europe, Asia, and North America, but also in
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, and
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. Camelina seems to be particularly adapted to cold semiarid climate zone (
steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...
s and prairies).


History

''C. sativa'' has been traditionally cultivated as an oilseed crop to produce
vegetable oil Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of edible plants. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed ...
and animal feed. Ample archeological evidence shows it has been grown in Europe for at least 3,000 years. The earliest archaeologic sites where it was found include the
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
levels at Auvernier, Switzerland (dated to the second millennium BC), the
Chalcolithic The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in di ...
level at Pefkakia in Greece (dated to the third millennium BC), and Sucidava-Celei, Romania (''circa'' 2200 BC).Daniel Zohary and Maria Hopf, Domestication of plants in the Old World, third edition (Oxford: University Press, 2000), pp. 138f During the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
and
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
, it was an important agricultural crop in northern Greece beyond the current range of the olive. It apparently continued to be grown at the time of the Roman Empire, although its Greek and Latin names are not known. As early as 600 BC, it was being sown as a monoculture around the
Rhine River The Rhine ( ) is one of the major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Cons ...
Valley, and was thought to have spread mainly by coexisting as a weed with flax monocultures. Until the 1940s, camelina was an important oil crop in eastern and central Europe, and currently has continued to be cultivated in a few parts of Europe for its seed oil. Camelina oil was used in oil lamps (until the modern harnessing of
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
,
propane Propane () is a three-carbon chain alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but becomes liquid when compressed for transportation and storage. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum ref ...
, and
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
) and as an edible oil (camelina oil, also referred to as wild flax or false flax oil). It was possibly brought to North America unintentionally as a
weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...
with flaxseed, and has had limited commercial importance until modern times. Currently, the
breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...
potential is unexplored compared to other oilseeds commercially grown around the world.


Uses

The seed oil was used in the kitchen or burnt in lamps.


Human food

The crop is now being researched due to its exceptionally high level (up to 45%) of omega-3
fatty acids In chemistry, in particular in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, ...
, which is uncommon in vegetable sources. Seeds contain 38 to 43% oil and 27 to 32% protein. Over 50% of the fatty acids in cold-pressed camelina oil are polyunsaturated. The oil is also very rich in natural antioxidants, such as
tocopherols Tocopherols (; TCP) are a class of organic compounds comprising various Methyl group, methylated phenols, many of which have vitamin E activity. Because the vitamin activity was first identified in 1936 from a dietary fertility factor in rats, it ...
, making this highly stable oil very resistant to
oxidation Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...
and rancidity.Sampath, Anusha (2009), "Chemical Characterization of Camelina Seed Oil" https://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/25894/PDF/1/play/ It has 1–3% erucic acid; recently, several low-erucic and zero-erucic ''Camelina sativa'' varieties (with erucic acid content of less than 1%) have been introduced. The
vitamin E Vitamin E is a group of eight compounds related in molecular structure that includes four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. The tocopherols function as fat-soluble antioxidants which may help protect cell membranes from reactive oxygen speci ...
content of camelina oil is approximately 110 mg/100 g. It is well suited for use as a
cooking oil Cooking oil (also known as edible oil) is a plant or animal liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. Oil allows higher cooking temperatures than water, making cooking faster and more flavorful, while likewise distributing h ...
as it has an almond-like flavor and aroma.


Traditional speciality guaranteed

The oil is registered under the name "Olej rydzowy tradycyjny" as a traditional speciality guaranteed product in the European Union and the United Kingdom.


Biodiesel and jet fuel

The US state of
Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
has recently been growing more camelina for its potential as a
biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from Biomass (energy), biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricu ...
and biolubricant. Plant scientists at the
University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...
,
Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...
, and other institutions also are studying this emerging
biodiesel Biodiesel is a renewable biofuel, a form of diesel fuel, derived from biological sources like vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled greases, and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made from fats. The roots of bi ...
. Studies have shown camelina-based
jet fuel Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by Gas turbine, gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for ...
reduces net carbon emissions by about 80%. The
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
chose it as the feedstock for their first test of aviation biofuel, and successfully operated a static F414 engine (used in the F/A-18 Hornet and
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are a series of American supersonic twinjet, twin-engine, Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft derived from the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Ho ...
) in October 2009 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
. The
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
also began testing the fuel in its aircraft in March 2010. On 22 April 2010, the U.S. Navy observed
Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally through earthday.org (formerly Earth Day Network) includin ...
by conducting a flight test lasting about 45 minutes at Naval Air Station Patuxent River of an F/A-18 Super Hornet – nicknamed the "Green Hornet" – powered by a 50/50 blend of conventional jet fuel and a biofuel made from camelina; the flight was the first of a planned 15 test flights totaling about 23 flight-hours, scheduled for completion by mid-June 2010. In March 2011, the U.S. Air Force successfully tested a 50/50 mix of jet propellant 8 (
JP-8 JP-8, or JP8 (for "Jet Propellant 8"), is a jet fuel, specified and used widely by the US military. It is specified by MIL-DTL-83133 and British Defence Standard 91-87, and similar to commercial aviation's Jet A-1, but with the addition of corros ...
) and camelina-derived biofuel in an F-22 Raptor, achieving a speed of Mach 1.5 on 18 March 2011. On 4 September 2011, the U.S. Navy's
Blue Angels The Blue Angels, formally named the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, are a Aerobatics, flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.. Blue Angels official site. Formed in 1946, the unit is the second oldest formal aerobatics ...
flight demonstration squadron used a 50/50 blend of camelina biofuel and jet fuel at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River Air Expo, the first time an entire military aviation unit flew on a biofuel mix. In 2011, the U.S. Navy announced plans to deploy a "Great Green Fleet," a carrier battle group powered entirely by nonfossil fuels, by 2016. By 2016, the U.S. Air Force wants 50% of the fuel it consumes to be from biofuels. Continental Airlines, was the first commercial airline to test a 50:50 blend of bio-derived "green jet" fuel and traditional jet fuel in the first demonstration of the use of sustainable biofuel to power a commercial aircraft in North America.( January 2009). The demonstration flight, conducted in partnership with Boeing, GE Aviation/CFM International, and Honeywell's UOP, marked the first sustainable biofuel demonstration flight by a commercial carrier using a two-engine aircraft: a Boeing 737-800 equipped with CFM International CFM56-7B engines. Continental ran the blend in Engine No. 2. During the two-hour test flight, Continental pilots engaged the aircraft in a number of normal and non-normal flight maneuvers, such as mid-flight engine shutdown and restart, and power accelerations and decelerations. A Continental engineer recorded flight data on board. KLM, the Royal Dutch Airline, was the first airline to operate a passenger-carrying flight using biofuel. On 23 November 2009, a
Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...
flew, carrying a limited number of passengers, with one of its four engines running on a 50/50 mix of biofuel and
kerosene Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...
. In June 2011, a Gulfstream G450 became the first
business jet A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people, typically business executives and high-ranking coworker, associates. Business jets are generally designed for faster air travel and more ...
to cross the Atlantic Ocean using a blend of 50/50 biofuel developed by
Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building automation, industrial automa ...
derived from camelina and petroleum-based jet fuel. The Dutch biofarming company Waterland International and a Japanese federation of farmers made an agreement in March 2012 to plant and grow camelina on 2000 to 3000 ha in Fukushima Prefecture. The seeds were to be used to produce biofuel, that could be used to produce electricity. According to director William Nolten, the region had a big potential for the production of clean energy. Some 800.000 ha in the region could not be used to produce food anymore, and after the nuclear disaster because of fears for contamination, the Japanese people refused to buy food produced in the region, anyway. Experiments would be done to find out whether camelina was capable of extracting radioactive caesium from the soil. An experiment with sunflowers had no success. A partnership of Chevron and Bunge companies purchased an Argentina camelina sativa seed producer, Chacraservicios, in July 2023 to contribute to their bio-diesel production.


Animal feed

Camelina has been approved as a cattle feed supplement in the US, as well as an ingredient (up to 10% of the ration) in broiler chicken feed and laying hen feed. Camelina meal, the byproduct of camelina when the oil has been extracted, has a significant crude protein content. "Feeding camelina meal significantly increased (p < 0.01) omega-3 atty acidconcentration in both breast and thigh meat f turkeyscompared to control group." Medical research indicates a diet abundant in omega-3 fatty acids is beneficial to human health. Camelina oil has also been investigated as a sustainable lipid source to fully replace fish oil in diets for farmed
Atlantic salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Hucho taimen, Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlan ...
,
rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...
, and
Atlantic cod The Atlantic cod (: cod; ''Gadus morhua'') is a fish of the family Gadidae, widely consumed by humans. It is also commercially known as '' cod'' or ''codling''.Rothamsted Research Rothamsted Research, previously known as the Rothamsted Experimental Station and then the Institute of Arable Crops Research, is one of the oldest agricultural experiment station, agricultural research institutions in the world, having been founde ...
in the UK reported they had developed a genetically modified form of ''Camelina sativa'' that produced Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and
Docosahexaenoic acid Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega−3 fatty acid that is an important component of the human brain, cerebral cortex, skin, and retina. It is given the fatty acid notation 22:6(''n''−3). It can be synthesized from alpha-linolenic acid or ...
(DHA) at levels equivalent to fish oil. EPA and DHA are long-chain
omega-3 fatty acid Omega−3 fatty acids, also called omega−3 oils, ω−3 fatty acids or ''n''−3 fatty acids, are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) characterized by the presence of a double bond three atoms away from the terminal methyl group in their ...
s which are beneficial for cardiovascular health. The main source of these omega-3 fatty acids is fish but supplies are limited and unsustainable. In October 2023, Yield10 Bioscience acquired an exclusive commercial license for the Rothansted's EPA/DHA ''Camelina''. In January 2024, Yield10 requested a Regulatory Status Review from USDA-APHIS for the modified ''Camelina''.


Agronomics


Cultivation

Camelina is a short-season crop (85–100 days) and grows well in the
temperate climate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ra ...
zone in light or medium soils. Camelina is generally seeded in spring from March to May, but can also be seeded in fall in mild climates. A seeding rate of 3–4 kg/ha is recommended, with an row interval of 12 to 20 cm. Seeding depth should not exceed 1 cm. With high seeding rates, these independently noncompetitive seedlings become competitive against weeds because of their density. The seedlings are early emerging and can withstand mild frosts in the spring. Minimal seedbed preparation is needed to establish camelina. Usually, camelina does not need any field interventions. However, perennial weeds may be difficult to control. Some specialized oilseed herbicides can be used on it. Also, camelina is highly resistant to black leg and ''Alternaria brassicae'', but it can be susceptible to sclerotinia stem rot. No insect has been found to cause economic damage to camelina. Camelina needs little water or nitrogen to flourish; it can be grown on marginal agricultural lands. Fertilization requirements depend on soils, but are generally low. It may be used as a rotation crop for wheat and other cereals, to increase the health of the soil. Camelina can also show some allelopathic traits, and it can be grown in mixed crop with cereals or legumes. Camelina is harvested and seeded with conventional farming equipment, which makes adding it to a crop rotation relatively easy for farmers who do not already grow it. Seed yields vary depending on conditions and can reach 2700 kg/ha (2400 lb/acre).


Cultivars

* North America: 'Blaine Creek', 'Suneson', 'Platte', 'Cheyenne', 'SO-40', 'SO-50', 'SO-60' * Europe: 'Epona', 'Celine', 'Calena', 'Lindo', 'Madonna', 'Konto','D.Tagliafierro'


Weed potential

''C. sativa'' subsp. ''linicola'' is a serious weed in flax fields. In fact, attempts to separate its seed from flax seeds with a winnowing machine over the years have selected for seeds which are similar in size to flax seeds, an example of Vavilovian mimicry.


See also

* Aviation biofuel


References


External links


"Evaluation of Camelina sativa oil as a feedstock for biodiesel production", '' Industrial Crops and Products'', Vol. 21 Issue 1 (January 2005), pp. 25-31

USDA Plants Profile for Camelina Crantz

USDA Plants Profile for Camelina microcarpa Andrz. ex DC. aka Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz ssp. microcarpa



First Green Supersonic Jet to Launch on Earth Day

Jepson Manual Treatment
*

* ttp://www.reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/203181.html Camelina Sativa: a Multiuse Oil Crop for Biofuel, Omega-3 Cooking Oil, and Protein/Oil Source for Animal Feed
Biofuel-powered U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor breaks sound barrier

Camfeed Project
* https://web.archive.org/web/20150928230816/http://turanggawaterlandsuryakancana.blogspot.co.id/ {{Authority control Biodiesel feedstock sources Biofuels Brassicaceae Crops originating from Asia Flora of Europe Flora of the United Kingdom Non-food crops