Marula

Name

Botanical: Sclerocarya birrea
Common: Marula fruit

Description

The marula tree is a single stemmed tree with a wide spreading crown. It is characterised by a grey mottled bark. The tree grows up to 18m tall mostly in low altitudes and open woodlands.

Fruit

The fruit of the marula grows up to about the size of a golfball and turns butter yellow when ripe. It consists of a leathery exocarp, which encloses white slimy fruit pulp and a large hard woody stone. The flesh clings onto to its brown stone. The flesh is very fibrous and juicy. The ripe fruit has a characteristic turpentine flavour. Inside the woody stone are two to three seeds, which are very rich in oil and protein. The fruits mature from February to June.

Distribution

Marula is widely distributed in Southern Africa and occurs in all PhytoTrade Africa member countries Malawi , Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe with large extensive belts stretching though Namibia Botswana and Zimbabwe and spilling in to Zambia and Malawi.

Traditional uses

The bark is used both as treatment and a prophylactic for malaria. The bark of the male or female tree is also used in regulating the sex of an unborn child. Gums exudates from the stem are mixed with water and soot to make ink by certain tribes in the region.

The bark is used as coagulant. It is also effective against diarrhoea, dysentery and unspecified stomach problems. Bark infusion is also used as treatment for fever and malaria.  The bark also yields a red-brown dye used in colouring traditional craft ware. The leaves are chewed upon to help indigestion and to treat heartburn. The fruit infusion is used to bathe tick-infested livestock. The fruit is also regarded as a potent insecticide.

Oil obtained from the kernels is used in meat preservation and protecting leather clothing. The oil is also used for skin and hair application, as it is believed to have moisturising properties.

The fruit juice is used in jam making, beer making and beer making. Marula beer is commonly used at traditional feast and ceremonies such as funerals and marriages.

Known properties

The fruit pulp has a high content of Vitamin C, citric acid and malic acid and sugar. Chemicals that have been isolated from the bark include procyanidins, gallatannins, flavonoids and catechins.

The kernels contain a lot of oil and protein. Marula oil is the new “miracle oil” for the cosmetics industry. Thanks to its composition of monounsaturated fatty acids and its rich content of antioxidants, marula oil has excellent natural stability to oxidation. Marula oil is nourishing and hydrating and naturally softens and revitalises the skin. The oil is popular in Namibia for its anti-oxidant, nutritional and aphrodisiac qualities.

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