'Sclerocarya birrea' commonly known as the marula, is a medium-sized deciduous tree, indigenous to the miombo woodlands (the most extensive warm dry forest type) of Southern Africa, the Sudano-Sahelian range of West Africa and the savanna woodlands of East Africa and Madagascar.

'Sclerocarya birrea' is divided into three subspecies: 'birrea', 'caffra' and 'multifoliolata'. These subspecies are differentiated by changes in leaf shape and size. They also grow in different areas in Africa.

* Birrea is found in northern Africa,

* Caffra is found in southern Africa, and

* Multifoliolata is only found in Tanzania.

The leaves are alternate, compound, and imparipinnate (pinnately compound leaves in which there is a lone terminal leaflet rather than a terminal pair of leaflets; also called odd-pinnate). The leaflet shapes range from round to elliptical.

The 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. The marula belongs to the family 'Anacardiaceae' such as the mango, cashew, pistachio and sumac, and is related to the genus 'Poupartia' from Madagascar.

The marula fruit is edible and is used in producing Amarula Cream liqueur. It has a creamy texture, with a fruity, toffee, and caramel-like flavor. The marula tree is a protected species in South Africa.

More Info: en.m.wikipedia.org