Dacryodes edulis or safou is a fruit tree native to
Africa, sometimes called Atanga (Gabon), Ube (Nigeria), African pear, bush
pear, African plum, Nsafu, bush butter
tree, or butterfruit.
Description
Dacryodes edulis is an evergreen tree attaining a
height of 18–40 m in the forest but not exceeding 12 m 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 tree flowers at the beginning of the rainy season and bears
fruits during 2 to 5 months after flowering.
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.
There
are two variants of Dacryodes edulis:
edulis and parvicarpa. The fruit of edulis
is larger and the tree has stout, ascending branches. parvicarpa has smaller fruit and slender, drooping branches.
Habitat and Range
The
preferential habitat of D. edulis is
a shady, humid tropical forest. However, it adapts well to variations in soil
type, humidity, temperature and day length.
The
natural range extends from Angola in the South, Nigeria and Sierra Leone in the
West and Uganda in the East. It is also cultivated in Malaysia, apparently.
Uses
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. Shade
tolerant traditional crops, such as Xanthosoma
sagittifolium and taro can be co-cultivated with D. edulis.
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.
The
seed of Dacryodes edulis is rich in
different proportion of carbohydrates, proteins, crude fibres, appreciable
amounts of potassium, calcium, magnessium and phosphorus. It is also rich in
essential amino acids such as Lysine, Phenylalanine, Leucine, Isoleucine. It
contain a considerable amount of fatty acis such as palmitic acis, oleic acis
and Linoleic acids. Physicochemical
analysis suggested that the seed have valuable functional attributes of
industrial interest
The
tree is also a source of many herbal medicines. It has long been used in the
traditional medicine of some African countries to treat various ailments such
as wound, skin diseases, dysentery and fever. The extracts and secondary
metabolites have been found to show biological activities such as
antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti
sickle-cell disease.[citation needed] A wide range of chemical constituents
such as terpenes, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids and saponins have been
isolated from the plant.
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.
