Sclerocarya birrea

The tree is a single-stemmed species with a broad, spreading crown. It is distinguished by its grey mottled bark and can grow up to tall, primarily in low altitudes and open woodlands. The distribution of this species throughout Africa and Madagascar has followed the Bantu in their migrations. There is some evidence of human domestication of marula trees, as trees found on farm lands tend to have larger fruit size. The fruits are oblong or ovate, about , The trees are dioecious, so that normally only female trees will fruit, but hermaphroditic production has been reported. Male trees produce multiple male flowers on a terminal raceme. These have red sepals and petals, and about 20 stamens per flower. On rare occasions a male flower can produce a gynoecium, turning it bisexual. Female flowers grow individually on their own pedicel and have staminodes. ==Taxonomy and etymology==

Sclerocarya birrea is divided into three subspecies: subsp. birrea, subsp. afra and subsp. multifoliolata. Tribal names (generally Bantu) are in Venda, or , etc. in Shona. In Zimbabwe, it is called in the Ndau dialect and , in Northern Ndebele, var. In Tanzania, it is known as , probably in Swahili. In Kenya, in Swahili and Digo language; in Oromo; in Maasai; in Pökoot; in Tugen. In Namibia, it is known in the Herero and the closely related Ovambo language as . ==Subspecies==

Three subspecies are accepted: • Sclerocarya birrea subsp. afra – Kenya to Namibia and KwaZulu-Natal, Madagascar, and Mayotte • Sclerocarya birrea subsp. birrea – West Africa to Ethiopia and Tanzania • Sclerocarya birrea subsp. multifoliolata – Tanzania ==Uses==

Traditional uses The fruit is traditionally used for food in Africa, and has considerable socioeconomic importance. The edible kernel inside the hard nutshell is difficult to extract but is delicious and is eaten by children; these "nuts" are also the staple that some hunter-gatherer tribes subsist on in the winter season. Uses by other species The marula fruit is eaten by various animals in Southern Africa. Giraffes, rhinoceroses and elephants all browse on the marula tree, with elephants in particular being a major consumer. Elephants eat the bark, branches and fruits of the marula, which may limit the spread of the trees. The damaged bark, due to browsing, can be used to identify marula trees as elephants preferentially target them. Elephants distribute marula seeds in their dung. In the documentary Animals Are Beautiful People by Jamie Uys, released in 1974, some scenes portray elephants, ostriches, warthogs and baboons allegedly becoming intoxicated from eating fermented marula fruit, as do reports in the popular press. While the fruit is commonly eaten by elephants, the animals would need a huge amount of fermented marulas to have any effect on them. ==Gallery==

File:Marula fruits Ongwediva March 2016.jpg|Marula windfalls in Ongwediva, Namibia File:Marula juice.jpg|Marula cider, Ongwediva, Namibia File:Sclerocarya birrea - Seed.jpg|Marula stones File:marula00.jpg|Marula seeds File:Marula Oil.jpg|Marula oil for sale at Ongwediva Annual Trade Fair 2016, Namibia ==Explanatory notes==