This species comprises three subspecies. The first, Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst., birrea is mainly found to the north of the African rainforest, running in an arc from Mauritania and Senegal to Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and northern Tanzania. The second subspecies, Sclerocarya birrea caffra (Sond.) Kokwaro is mainly found south of the rainforest, running south from southern Kenya and Tanzania to northern Namibia, Botswana and northeastern S. Africa. A third subspecies, Sclerocarya birrea multifoliolata (Engl.) Kokwaro, is found mainly in Tanzania where the ranges of the other two subspecies overlap. The main differences between these subspecies seem to be based mainly on the leaves and does not really affect plant uses, so all three are included here under the species name[].

Common Name: Marula

General Information

Marula is a short-boled deciduous tree with large branches and a light, rounded crown. It usually grows to about 13 metres tall, with exceptional specimens up to 20 metres[]. The bole can sometimes reach over 80cm in diameter[].
A very important multipurpose plant through much of Africa, particularly valued for its edible fruit and seed, but also supplying a range of other foods, medicines and various commodities to the local populace. The tree is commonly harvested from the wild, mainly for food and medicinal use, it is often planted around villages in E Africa and is sometimes also cultivated in S. Africa[, ]. It is grown as an experimental crop in Israel and has been introduced to Australia, India and Oman[]. The fruits and seeds are commonly sold in African markets[, ].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - drier areas from Mauritania, Senegal to Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya, south to Namibia, Botswana, NE S. Africa, Madagascar.

Habitat

Drier savannah of the Sahel[]. Wooded grasslands, riverine woodlands and bushlands[]. Mixed deciduous woodland and wooded grassland, often on rocky hills, from sea level to 1,200 metres.

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	13.00 m
Growth Rate	Medium
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Semi-cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of low to medium elevations in hot, dry, tropical savannah and forest areas[]. It grows in areas where the mean annual temperature is within the range 19 - 35°c; the mean annual rainfall is in the range 200 - 1,600mm; and there is a well-defined dry season[, ]. It prefers a warm, frost-free climate but is also found at high altitudes where temperatures may drop below freezing point for a very short period in winter[].
Requires a sunny position[]. An easily grown plant requiring very little attention once established, it succeeds in soils that are too poor to support other crops[, ]. It prefers well drained sandy soils and loams in the wild, though it is also often found growing on rocky hills[]. The plant is very tolerant of saline soils[]. Tolerates a pH in the range 4.5 - 6.5[].
Young trees are susceptible to fire damage[].
Marula is fast growing, reaching 3.5 metres in height within 8 years in areas with 600mm mean annual rainfall[].
Mean heights of planted trees 4 - 5 years old in Israel were 4.1 - 6.2 metres, with boles 13 - 18 cm in diameter[].
Wild trees in Mali, estimated 11 - 12 years and 32 years old, were 8.2 metres and 6.9 metres tall respectively, with boles 28cm and 45cm in diameter[]. It is one of the fastest growing trees in South Africa, with a growth rate of up to 1.5 metres per year when young[].
Trees have set fruit after just 3 years in a trial in Israel[].
A single female tree can yield 2,100 - 9,100 fruits in a season, the fruits falling while still green and ripening on the ground[].
A dioecious species, although occasional trees bear flowers of both sexes. Usually, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[]. The fully ripe fruits have a mucilaginous texture with a sweetly acid but pleasant taste[, , , ]. It is variously described as tasting like a mango, like a guava or as not being tasty at all[]. Often eaten as a snack, travellers out in the bush find them satisfying to suck for their thirst-quenching effects[]. The pulp can be used to prepare jam and wine[]. It can be boiled down to a thick black syrup and used as a sweetening agent[]. Contains four times as much vitamin C as oranges[]. The fruit is pale yellow, obovoid, up to 37mm long with a leathery rind like a mango and a similar fibrous soft pulp covering the stone[, , ].
The expressed juice makes an agreeable drink, and in many areas is fermented into an alcoholic beverage[]. The juice may also be boiled down to a thick black consistency used for sweetening guinea-corn gruel[].
The fruits cannot be stored for more than a week, they bruise easily and therefore are difficult to transport[].

Seed - raw or cooked[, ]. A flavour similar to walnuts or peanuts[]. They can be ground into a flour[]. The nut contains two or three seeds with oily and edible kernels[, ].Each seed is up to 20mm long and 8mm wide[]. The seed is difficult to extract from the nut[].

An edible oil is obtained from the seed[, ]. Containing 28% protein, it is used for cooking[]. The oil consists of 64% oleic acid, 17% myristic acid and small quantities of several others[]. The oil has a quality and fatty acid composition comparable to olive oil but with a stability that is 10 times greater[].

Medicinal

The bark is analgesic, anti-inflammatory[]. An infusion is used in the treatment of stomach-pains and constipation, to ease labour-pains[]. A decoction is used as a purge[].
The analgesic action is utilized to quell a toothache by chewing the bark and placing it in carious cavities in the teeth[].
The bark, especially of the roots, but also of the trunk, is used as a remedy for snake-bites[]. Pounded to a paste, it must be rubbed on the area until a swelling is raised, then a decoction of the bark is drunk and a dressing applied over the area[]. The leaves may also be used for this purpose[].
The bark is used externally as an anti-inflammation preparation and, with butter added, is applied to the forehead for headache, and to the eyes for blepharitis[]. A decoction is used as a wash on skin-eruptions[].

The root is pounded up with water, and the water is drunk in the treatment of schistosomiasis[]. This water is also used for washing scabies[].

The fruit is said to be laxative[].

The leaves and fruits are chewed as a treatment for coughs[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The tree is used to provide shade and act as a windbreak[].

Other Uses

The bark yields a strong fibre[, , ]. It is used for making ropes[].

When injured, the bark exudes a nearly colourless gum which becomes brittle and friable on drying. The gum, dissolved in water and mixed with soot, is used to make ink[, ].

The bark contains around 20% tannins[].
The bark is used to prepare a mauve, pink, brown or red dye, the colour depending on methods used[].

The seed contains 56% of a non-drying oil[]. The oil obtained from the seed is used for skin care[].

The oil-rich seeds burn brightly like a candle[].

The heartwood is greyish dirty white to red-brown; it is not clearly demarcated from the thin band of sapwood. The wood is coarse textured, interlocked grain, light to moderate weight, soft and weak. It is moderately durable when well-seasoned; easy to work with well-sharpened tools; takes nails; turns well; can be carved; and takes a good polish. When big enough it is used for mortars and strong black-stained bowls[, ]. Of the woods used to make these bowls, this species is considered the best[]. In Jebel Marra wooden platters are made of it, and in Ethiopia milking vessels and axe-handles[]. The wood is also used for making drums and hollowed-out canoes; pestles and mortars; bowls, furniture, saddles and carvings[, ].
The wood is used for fuel[].

Propagation

Seed - dried seed can retain its viability for several years[]. The hard seed shell) forms a physical barrier to seed germination and removal of the opercula (lids) will significantly improve germination, with the seeds germinating faster and more uniformly. This must be done manually with a small chisel and is normally too time consuming to be feasible[]. Germination has also been reported to be improved if the stones are cracked in a vice but this must be
done carefully as the seeds are very fragile and easily damaged[]. Furthermore, cracking may increase seed
microflora. It is not recommended to extract the seeds. Treatment with acid has shown good results[]. If the opercula have been removed, germination is fast and uniform, reaching 70% after one week and 85% after two weeks from sowing. Without treatment, germination may take as long as nine months[].
It is easily propagated from cuttings[].

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