bio.wikisort.org - Plant

Sclerocarya birrea (Ancient Greek: σκληρός ⟨sklērós⟩, "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.

Marula
S. birrea with and without foliage
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Anacardiaceae
Genus:	Sclerocarya
Species:	S. birrea
Binomial name
Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst.
Synonyms
Poupartia birrea (A. Rich.) Aubrév Spondias birrea (A. Rich.) [1]

Description

The tree is a single stemmed tree with a wide spreading crown. It is characterised by a grey mottled bark. The tree grows up to 18 m tall mostly 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.[2]

The fruits, which ripen between December and March, have a light yellow skin (exocarp), with white flesh (mesocarp). They fall to the ground when unripe and green in colour, and then ripen to a yellow colour on the ground. They are succulent and tart with a strong and distinctive flavour.[3] Inside is a walnut-sized, thick-walled stone (endocarp). These stones, when dry, expose the seeds by shedding 2 (sometimes 3) small circular plugs at one end. The fruits are drupes with a single seed encased within their endocarp, although up to four seeds can be present.[4] The seeds have a delicate nutty flavour and are much sought-after, especially by small rodents who know to gnaw exactly where the plugs are located.

The trees are dioecious. Male trees produce multiple male flowers on a terminal raceme. These have red sepals and petals, and about 20 stamens per flower. On rare occasion a male flower can produce a gynoecium, turning it bisexual. Female flowers grow individually on their own pedicel and have staminodes.[4] The leaves are alternate, compound, and imparipinnately divided. The leaflet shapes range from round to elliptical.

Taxonomy and etymology

Sclerocarya birrea is divided into three subspecies: subsp. birrea, subsp. caffra and subsp. multifoliolata.[4] These subspecies are differentiated by changes in leaf shape and size. Subsp. birrea is found in northern Africa, subsp. caffra is found in southern Africa, and subsp. multifoliolata is only found in Tanzania.[4]

The generic name Sclerocarya is derived from the Ancient Greek words 'skleros' meaning 'hard' and 'karyon' meaning 'nut'. This refers to the hard pit of the fruit. The specific epithet 'birrea' comes from the common name 'birr', for this type of tree in Senegal.[4] The marula belongs to the same family, Anacardiaceae, as the mango, cashew, pistachio and sumac, and is closely related to the genus Poupartia from Madagascar.

Common names include jelly plum, cat thorn, morula, cider tree, marula, maroola nut/plum, and in Afrikaans, maroela.[5]

Uses

Traditional uses

The fruit is traditionally used for food in Africa, and has considerable socioeconomic importance.[6] The fruit juice and pulp are mixed with water and stored in a container over 1–3 days of fermentation to make marula beer, a traditional alcoholic beverage.[7] The alcoholic distilled beverage (maroela-mampoer) made from the fruit is referenced in the stories of the South African writer Herman Charles Bosman.^{[citation needed]} Marula oil is used topically to moisturise the skin, and as an edible oil in the diet of San people in Southern Africa.[8][9] The marula tree is protected in South Africa.[5]

Commercial uses

On an industrial level the fruit of the marula tree is collected from the wild by members of rural communities on whose land the trees grow. This harvest and sale of fruit only occurs during two to three months but is an important income to poor rural people, especially women.[10] The fruit is delivered to processing plants where fruit pulp, pips, kernels and kernel oil are extracted and stored for processing throughout the year.^{[citation needed]}

The fruit is used to make the cream liqueur Amarula and also sold as a frozen puree used in juice blends. Marula oil is used as an ingredient in cosmetics.[11]

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.[12] 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.[13] While the fruit is commonly eaten by elephants, the animals would need a huge amount of fermented marulas to have any effect on them,[12] and other animals prefer the ripe fruit.

The marula fruit has been suggested to be the food of choice for the ancestral forest-dwelling form of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, which was much more selective about which fruit they preferred than the flies that have self-domesticated themselves to live near to humans. The ancestral fruit flies are triggered by the ester ethyl isovalerate in the marula fruit.[14]

Gallery

• 
  Marula windfalls in Ongwediva, Namibia
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  Marula stones
• 
  Marula seeds
• 
  Marula oil for sale at Ongwediva Annual Trade Fair 2016, Namibia

References

External links

• Sclerocarya birrea in West African plants – A Photo Guide.
• Swazisecrets.com: Marula African oils

На других языках

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[de] Marula-Baum

Der Marula-Baum (Sclerocarya birrea), auch Elefantenbaum genannt, ist eine Pflanzenart innerhalb der Familie der Sumachgewächse (Anacardiaceae). Sie gedeiht hauptsächlich in den warmen, frostfreien Regionen Subäquatorial-Afrikas.

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- [en] Sclerocarya birrea

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[es] Sclerocarya birrea

La marula (Sclerocarya birrea, en griego antiguo: σκληρός {sklērós}, "duro", y κάρυον {káryon}, "nuez", en referencia al hueso dentro de la fruta carnosa), es un árbol de origen africano de hoja caduca de tamaño medio a grande que puede alcanzar los 18 m de altura.

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[fr] Marula

Sclerocarya birrea

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[it] Sclerocarya birrea

La marula (Sclerocarya birrea (A.Rich.) Hochst.) è un albero di medie dimensioni, appartenente alla famiglia delle Anacardiaceae e originario dell'Africa meridionale. In condizioni particolarmente favorevoli (basse altitudini, praterie aperte) può raggiungere circa 20 m di altezza. Il nome scientifico deriva dalle parole greche skleros ("duro") e karyon ("noce"), con riferimento alla durezza del nocciolo dei frutti; birrea deriva invece da birr, nome indigeno della pianta in alcune regioni. I frutti della marula sono simili a prugne, di colore verde quando acerbi e giallo quando maturi. All'interno si trova un nocciolo molto duro, che contiene due o tre semi.

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[ru] Склерокария

Склерока́рия эфио́пская[2], или Марула (лат. Sclerocarya birrea) — одноствольное листопадное двудомное дерево с широкой кроной семейства сумаховые, происходящее из лесистых районов Южной и Западной Африки, с широкой разворачивающейся кроной и серой испещрённой корой, достигающее в высоту 18 м. Распространение этого растения в Африке следовало за миграциями племён банту, так как его плоды испокон веков были важной частью их питательного рациона. Зрелые плоды имеют тонкую жёлтую кожицу и белую мякоть, богатую витамином C (его в маруле содержится в 8 раз больше, чем в апельсине). Мякоть сочная и терпкая, имеет сильный запах скипидара. Она съедобна в свежем виде, также может быть использована для приготовления соков, желе и алкогольных напитков (например, ликёра Amarula). Ядра семян, богатые белками и жирами, употребляются в пищу, а также служат сырьём для получения масла. Могут плодоносить до двух раз в год перед сезонами дождей март-апрель, сентябрь-октябрь.

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