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Africa's Trees of Life

Africa's Trees of Life

In Africa's searing landscape, species of distinctive trees provide food, shelter and hunting grounds for predators and prey struggling to survive.

Created By
StatusEnded
Original NameAfrica's Trees of Life
First Air DateOctober 15, 2016
Last Air DateOctober 15, 2016
Seasons1
Episodes3
Episode Runtime 0min
LanguageSpanish
Original LanguageEnglish
Production Countries
Production Companies
NetworksOdisea
S01E03

Marula Tree

The history of the marula tree goes back thousands of years. Archaeological evidence shows the marula tree was a source of nutrition as long as ago as 10,000 years B.C. Marula, Scelerocarya birrea, subspecies caffera, is one of Africa' botanical treasures. In the Pomongwe Cave in Zimbabwe, it is estimated that 24 million marula fruits were eaten. Not only the fruit, but also the nut, are rich in minerals and vitamins. Legends abound on the multiple uses of the tree, the bark, the leaves, fruit, nut and kernels. Most well known as the fruit that 'drives elephants mad' when dropped to the ground and lightly fermented, marula is a much-loved tree in the veld in Africa. It was a dietary mainstay in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia throughout ancient times.

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