Dacryodes edulis is a fruit tree native to Africa, sometimes called safou, atanga, ube, African or bush pear or plum, nsafu, bush buttertree, or butterfruit.
Description
Dacryodes edulis is an evergreen tree attaining a height of 18–40 meters in the forest but not exceeding 12 meters in plantations. It has a relatively short trunk and a deep, dense crown. The bark is pale gray and rough with droplets of resin. The leaves are a compound with 5-8 pairs of leaflets. The upper surface of the leaves is glossy. The flowers are yellow and about 5 mm across. They are arranged in a large inflorescence. The fruit is an ellipsoidal drupe which varies in length from 4 to 12 cm. The skin of the fruit is dark blue or violet, whereas the flesh is pale to light green. The tree flowers at the beginning of the rainy season and bears fruits during 2 to 5 months after flowering. There are two variants of Dacryodes edulis: D. e. var. edulis and D. e. var. parvicarpa. The fruit of D. e. var. edulis is larger and the tree has stout, ascending branches. D. e. var. parvicarpa has smaller fruit and slender, drooping branches.
Oil composition from fruits of two cultivars of African pear in Cameroon
The oil of fruits of D. edulis is a rich source of fatty acids and triglycerides. The fatty acid compositions of fruit pulp oil of 2 cultivars of D. edulis were determined. Fruits significantly differed in mass, length, thickness of pulp and mass of kernel, but contained similar amounts of oil. The fatty acids and triglycerides compositions of oils of both cultivars were similar and cultivar 2 was richer in dipalmito-olein ).
Uses
D. edulis has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.
Fruit
The main use of D. edulis is its fruit, which can be eaten either raw, cooked in salt water or roasted. Cooked flesh of the fruit has a texture similar to butter. The pulp contains 48% oil and a plantation can produce 7-8 tons of oil per hectare. The fat content of this fruit is much higher compared to fruits such as apple, guava, and pawpaw. It is also rich in vitamins. The kernel can be used as fodder for sheep or goats. The flowers are useful in apiculture.
Timber
The wood of D. edulis is elastic, greyish-white to pinkish. The wood has general use for tool handles, and occasionally for mortars, and is suitable for carpentry.
Seed
The seed of Dacryodes edulis is rich in different proportion of carbohydrates, proteins, crude fibres, appreciable amounts of potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. It is also rich in essential amino acids such as Lysine, Phenylalanine, Leucine, Isoleucine. It contain a considerable amount of fatty acids such as palmitic acids, oleic acids, and linoleic acids. Physicochemical analysis suggested that the seed have valuable functional attributes of industrial interest. The important natural product, gallic acid, is found in significant quantity in the seed of Dacryodes edulis. The vasomodulatory properties of the seeds have been reported.
The resin is sometimes burnt for lighting or used as a glue. The tree is used as an ornamental plant and is known to improve soil quality by providing large quantities of biomass.
Nomenclature
The name of the genus comes from the Greek word for tear, dakruon. This is a reference to the resin droplets on bark surface of its members. The species nameedulis means edible.
