Taxon: Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. subsp. afra (Sond.) Kokwaro

Summary

Genus:

Sclerocarya

Family:

Anacardiaceae

Subfamily:

Spondiadoideae

Nomen number:

510309

Place of publication:

Kew Bull. 34:756. 1980

Verified:

07/22/2024 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

7 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. (1 active accession[s])
Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. subsp. birrea (0 active accession[s])
Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. subsp. multifoliolata (Engl.) Kokwaro (0 active accession[s])

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Homotypic Synonym(s)
Poupartia afra (Sond.) H. Perrier
Poupartia caffra (Sond.) H. Perrier, orth. var.
Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. subsp. caffra (Sond.) Kokwaro, orth. var.

No images

Conservation Status

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	maroola-plum	as subsp. caffra	1	Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2 Note: as Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra
Africa (South)	marula	as subsp. caffra	2	Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs Note: as Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra
Swedish	marula	as subsp. caffra	2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource) Note: as Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya			Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania			Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Angola			Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Mozambique			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zimbabwe			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Botswana			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Eswatini			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Namibia			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	KwaZulu-Natal		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Limpopo		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Mpumalanga		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo			Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Madagascar			Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
2	Cultivated					also cult.

Native
Africa

EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Democratic Republic of the Congo
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa [KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga]
WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Madagascar

Cultivated (also cult.)

Reference(s)

Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Environmental	shade/shelter	as subsp. caffra	Borlaug, N. et al., eds. 2008. Fruits: Marula. In: National Research Council, Lost crops of Africa. 3:117-119. Note: as Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra
Human food	beverage base	as subsp. caffra	Duke, J. A. 1989. Handbook of Nuts CRC Press. Note: = Sclerocarya caffra Sond.
Human food	beverage base	as subsp. caffra	Borlaug, N. et al., eds. 2008. Fruits: Marula. In: National Research Council, Lost crops of Africa. 3:117-119. Note: as Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra
Human food	fruit	as subsp. caffra	Duke, J. A. 1989. Handbook of Nuts CRC Press. Note: = Sclerocarya caffra Sond.
Human food	fruit	as subsp. caffra	Borlaug, N. et al., eds. 2008. Fruits: Marula. In: National Research Council, Lost crops of Africa. 3:117-119. Note: as Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra
Human food	oil/fat	as subsp. caffra	Duke, J. A. 1989. Handbook of Nuts CRC Press. Note: = Sclerocarya caffra Sond.
Human food	seeds	as subsp. caffra	Duke, J. A. 1989. Handbook of Nuts CRC Press. Note: = Sclerocarya caffra Sond.
Human food	seeds	as subsp. caffra	Borlaug, N. et al., eds. 2008. Fruits: Marula. In: National Research Council, Lost crops of Africa. 3:117-119. Note: as Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra
Materials	beads	as subsp. caffra	Smith, R. J. Botanical beads of the world (on-line resource). Note: as Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra
Materials	wood	as subsp. caffra	Duke, J. A. 1989. Handbook of Nuts CRC Press. Note: = Sclerocarya caffra Sond.
Medicines	folklore	as subsp. caffra	Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs Note: as Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=510309. Accessed 11 May 2026.