Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra

Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra, the marula, is a medium-sized tree growing to heights from 7 m to 17 m (SA Tree List No. 360). The marula grows a single erect stem and develops an imposing, spreading crown when mature. It is dioecious (sexes on different trees) and deciduous (leafless during the rest season).

The generic name of Sclerocarya is derived from the hard woody stone inside the fleshy fruit: skleros is the Greek for hard, karyon for nut. Birrea comes from birr, the common name for the tree in Senegal where the marula is also found and the fruit eaten, as throughout Africa.

The bark is grey and rough, flakes in small sections, creating a patchy appearance. The leaves are compound, alternate and concentrated towards the end of branchlets. The leaflets are elliptic and there is a terminal leaflet.

The subspecies distribution is in the northeast of the country, in all the provinces north of the Vaal River and KwaZulu-Natal. This is the only subspecies occurring in South Africa. In Africa the species is widespread.

The habitat is open woodland at medium to lower elevations. The subspecies is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

The marula has been providing food to indigenous people of Africa for thousands of years and still does. Evidence was found in a cave in Zimbabwe of human consumption of marula fruit as well as the nutty flavoured hard kernels, dating back to about 12 000 years ago.

The fruit, yellow drupes by the time that they lie under the tree, have a tart taste sought after by humans and several animal species. The fruits have a walnut sized stone in the centre, containing two or three seeds, sought after by several rodent species.

These fruits are the basis of Amarula liqueur. Many traditional medicinal uses have been recorded for parts of this tree in different countries (Coates Palgrave, 2002; www.plantzafrica.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).