Sclerocarya birrea

Sclerocarya birrea (Ancient Greek: σκληρός ⟨sklērós⟩, meaning "hard", and κάρυον ⟨káryon⟩, "nut", in reference to the stone inside the fleshy fruit), commonly known as the marula, is a medium-sized deciduous fruit-bearing tree, indigenous to the miombo woodlands of Southern Africa, the Sudano-Sahelian range of West Africa, the savanna woodlands of East Africa and Madagascar.

Description

A shrub or tree. It grows 9 m high and spreads 6 m wide. It can be 15 m tall. It loses its leaves during the year. The crown is dense and rounded. The bark is grey and finely cracked. The leaves have leaflets along the stalk. The leaves are near the tips of the branches. The edges of the leaflets can be wavy. Plants are separately male and female. Female flowers are reddish and on long stalks at the ends of branches. The fruit are oval or round and 3-4 cm long. They are green but turn yellow as they ripen. The skin is tough and leathery. The pulp is juicy and white. There is one large stone. There are some subspecies.

Edible Uses

The fruit is eaten raw or cooked. Fully ripe fruits have a mucilaginous texture with a sweetly acid but pleasant taste, variously described as similar to mango or guava, though some find it unremarkable. Often eaten as a snack, travellers find them satisfying to suck for their thirst-quenching qualities. The pulp can be made into jam or wine, or boiled down to a thick black syrup used as a sweetening agent. The fruit contains four times as much vitamin C as oranges. The pale yellow, obovoid fruit reaches up to 37mm long, with a leathery rind and fibrous soft pulp surrounding the stone. Expressed juice makes an agreeable drink and is widely fermented into an alcoholic beverage, or boiled down to a thick black consistency for sweetening guinea-corn gruel. Fruits cannot be stored for more than a week, bruise easily, and are difficult to transport. The nut contains two or three seeds with oily, edible kernels, each up to 20mm long and 8mm wide, with a flavour similar to walnuts or peanuts. The seeds can be ground into flour. An edible oil extracted from the seeds contains 28% protein and is used for cooking; it consists of 64% oleic acid, 17% myristic acid, and small quantities of several other fatty acids. The oil has a quality and fatty acid composition comparable to olive oil, but with a stability ten times greater.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are eaten. The juice is also fermented to produce a cider-like drink. Fruit are used for jam. The oily kernel is eaten. It also produces an edible oil.

Medicinal Uses

The bark is analgesic and anti-inflammatory. An infusion is used to treat stomach pains and constipation, and to ease labour pains. A decoction is used as a purge. The analgesic properties are used to relieve toothache by chewing the bark and placing it into cavities in the teeth. The bark — particularly of the roots, but also of the trunk — is used as a remedy for snake bites: pounded to a paste, it is rubbed onto the affected area until a swelling is raised, then a decoction of the bark is drunk and a dressing is applied. Leaves may also be used for this purpose. The bark is applied externally as an anti-inflammatory preparation; mixed with butter, it is applied to the forehead for headache and to the eyes for blepharitis. A decoction is used as a wash for skin eruptions. The root is pounded with water and the resulting liquid drunk to treat schistosomiasis, and is also used for washing scabies. The fruit is said to be laxative. Leaves and fruits are chewed to treat coughs. The plant is noted for its vitamin C content.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in the lowlands. It grows in equatorial Africa. It grows in dry areas. It grows in the Sahel. It can grow in arid places. It grows in Miombo woodland in Africa. In Brisbane Botanical Garden. In Ethiopia it grows between 500-1,700 m above sea level.

Where It Grows

Africa, Angola, Asia, Australia, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Chad, Cuba, East Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, India, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, North Africa, Sahel, Senegal, South Africa, Southern Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, West Africa, West Indies, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

Plants can be grown by seeds but the seeds do not easily germinate. They need to have a hole cut in the hard seed coat or put into sulphuric acid. The seeds can be soaked over night in water before planting. It can be grown from cuttings and root suckers. Using fertilizer, manure and early irrigation reduce the survival and growth of young plants. They are adapted to low fertility and seasonal rainfall.

Propagation

Dried seed can retain viability for several years. The hard seed shell creates a physical barrier to germination. Removing the opercula (lids) manually with a small chisel significantly improves germination speed and uniformity, though this is normally too time-consuming to be practical. Cracking the stones in a vice has also been reported to improve germination, but must be done carefully as the seeds are very fragile and easily damaged; cracking may also increase seed microflora, so extracting the seeds this way is not recommended. Acid treatment has shown good results. With opercula removed, germination is fast and uniform, reaching 70% after one week and 85% after two weeks from sowing. Without any treatment, germination may take up to nine months. The plant is also easily propagated from cuttings.

Other Uses

The tree provides shade and acts as a windbreak. The bark yields a strong fibre used for making ropes. When injured, the bark exudes a nearly colourless gum that becomes brittle and friable on drying; dissolved in water and mixed with soot, it is used to make ink. The bark contains around 20% tannins and is used to prepare a mauve, pink, brown, or red dye depending on the method used. The seeds contain 56% of a non-drying oil used in skin care. The oil-rich seeds burn brightly like a candle. The heartwood is greyish dirty white to red-brown, not clearly demarcated from the thin sapwood band. The wood is coarse-textured with interlocked grain, light to moderate in weight, soft and weak, but moderately durable when well-seasoned. It works easily with sharp tools, takes nails, turns well, can be carved, and takes a good polish. It is used for mortars, bowls (considered the best species for making strong black-stained bowls), wooden platters, milking vessels, axe handles, drums, hollowed-out canoes, pestles, furniture, saddles, and carvings. The wood is also used as fuel. Several moths breed on the tree, including Argema mimosae, the African Moon Moth.

Other Information

It is a commonly used fruit in Mozambique. Fruit tend to be available in the drier more hungry season. It is cultivated.

Notes

There are 4 Sclerocarya species. The fruit are rich in Vitamin C.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Akamil, Arol, Baqusha, Boita, Ciruela de los cafres, Daniya, Danya, Didissa, Dineygama, Eedi, Eijikai, Ejikai, Ekajijai, Enaimu, Gene, Gummel, Hemaidai, Himed, Hudha, Humeid, Ijakait, Kamul, Katetalam, Kokwaro, Kuma, Likok, Mauw'a, M'ckoowee, Mbwegele, Mfule, Mng'ongo, Mngongo, Morula, Mounannikmon, Mtondooko, Muganyan, Mugongo, Muhonga, Mupfura, Muura, Muuw'a, Nagna, Ndouas, Ng'ongwa, Ngoringo, N'gounan, Noabga, Nobray, Nobse, Nunga, Olmagwai, Olmang'wai, Olmangusai, Omugongo, Otitimo, Otitipo, Paatta, Paatta-aguta, Paelen, Pasha, Sorah, Tendonri, Thibo, Tibo, Titigo, Tunkelo, Ubamingbu, Weslecha, Yeberha-lomi

References (103)

• Abbiw, D.K., 1990, Useful Plants of Ghana. West African uses of wild and cultivated plants. Intermediate Technology Publications and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. p 48
• Addis, G., Asfaw, Z & Woldu, Z., 2013, Ethnobotany of Wild and Semi-wild Edible Plants of Konso Ethnic Community, South Ethiopia. Ethnobotany Research and Applications. 11:121-141
• Addis, G., et al, 2013, The Role of Wild and Semi-wild Edible Plants in Household Food Sovereignty in Hamer and Konso Communities, South Ethiopia. Ethnobotany Research & Applications. 11:251-271
• Akinnifesi F. K., et al, 2008, Early growth and survival of three miombo woodland fruit tree species under fertilizer, manure and dry-season irrigation in southern Malawi. Forest Ecology and Management 255:546-557
• Akinnifesi, F. K., et al, 2006, Towards the development of Miombo fruit trees as commercial crops in Southern Africa. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods. Vol. 16 pp 1-3-121

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