Editing Wax (section)

==== Plant waxes ====

Plants secrete waxes into and on the surface of their [[plant cuticle|cuticles]] as a way to control evaporation, wettability and hydration.<ref name=Ullmann/> The [[epicuticular wax]]es of plants are mixtures of substituted long-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons, containing alkanes, alkyl esters, fatty acids, primary and secondary alcohols, [[diol]]s, ketones and aldehydes.<ref name=Baker>EA Baker (1982) Chemistry and morphology of plant epicuticular waxes. In The Plant Cuticle. Ed. DF Cutler, KL Alvin, CE Price. Academic Press. {{ISBN|0-12-199920-3}}</ref> From the commercial perspective, the most important plant wax is [[carnauba wax]], a hard wax obtained from the Brazilian palm ''[[Copernicia prunifera]]''. Containing the ester myricyl cerotate, it has many applications, such as confectionery and other food coatings, car and furniture polish, floss coating, and [[surfboard wax]]. Other more specialized vegetable waxes include [[jojoba oil]], [[candelilla wax]] and [[ouricury wax]].