Unlike money, diesel fuel grows on trees.

Examples are given of the possibility of obtaining diesel fuel from plants. Tests have shown that the liquid from the trunk of the Brazilian jungle tree, Cobaifera langsdorfii, is virtually pure diesel oil. A hole drilled into the tree collects hydrocarbons from capillaries, ruptured by drilling. An acre of 100 mature trees might be able to produce 25 barrels of fuel per year. However, the tree will probably grow only in Southern Florida and it will probably never represent a significant source of diesel fuel for the U.S. Primary interest is centered on Euphorbia lathyrus that is currently producing the equivalent of 10 barrels of petroleum per acre. This yield could be improved dramatically by breeding and genetic selection. At 10 barrels per acre, the projected price for the finished product is $40 per barrel, roughly twice the price of crude oil. However, the hydrocarbons from Euphobia are primarily a blend of C15 compounds (terpene trimers) that, when subjected to catalytic cracking, yield various products virtually identical to those obtained by cracking naphtha, a high quality petroleum fraction that is one of the principal raw materials of the chemical industry. Naphtha currently costs $50 per barrel, a price that makes oil from Euphobia competitive, even with current yields.