The shea fruit consists of a thin, tart, nutritious pulp that surrounds a relatively large, oil-rich seed from which shea butter is extracted. It is a deciduous tree usually 7–15 m (23–49 ft) tall, but has reached 25 m (82 ft) and a trunk diameter of 2 m (6.6 ft).

The shea tree grows in the dry savannah environments found in a number of countries across the middle of Africa. However, this critical tree is now under threat from excessive logging and habitat loss. In a good year, one shea tree can produce up to 50kg of fruit.

Shea fruits grow on the African Shea tree, also called the Shea butter or Shea nut tree. Botanically classified as Vitellaria paradoxa, Shea trees can live for up to 300 years. They take 20 to 30 years to reach maturity and to begin producing fruit, once they do, they can produce fruit for the next 200 years.

Dec 6, 2019 · Shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa) is an important indigenous fruit tree in Uganda that takes about 25 years to mature. The fruits resemble plums and take about four to six months to fully ripen...

Jul 1, 2022 · I call Shea the mother of all African trees; it produces edible fruits, edible flowers, and inside its seed is the nut processed into a butter for skincare, for health, for cooking, for traditional medicine, and several other uses.

Jun 22, 2022 · Shea fruit and nuts are an important source of nutrition and calories across the African savannah, where many food sources disappear during the extended dry season. Because shea trees are so valuable as a food source, they are often protected by law.

Aug 9, 2024 · The shea tree, source of the widely known shea butter, is native to Western Africa, where it has been a staple of traditional medicine for centuries. Keep reading to learn more about shea tree benefits, common applications, history, cultivation, and much more!

Oct 3, 2022 · The shade from shea trees reduces initial crop yield, but the valuable shea fruit will make up for the initial crop loss. Over the long term, shea trees help improve farming conditions by helping to prevent wind erosion of the soil, and adding organic matter back into the earth.

Oct 11, 2020 · Shea trees are grown widely in semi-arid parts of Africa for their fruit and seeds. From Senegal in the west to Uganda in the east, they are found in agro-forestry systems called parklands –...

Shea butter from fresh seeds is white, odourless and of high quality, while that from stale seeds is dark, and tastes bitter. High quality shea butter is consumed throughout West Africa as a cooking fat.