Vitellaria
- For the baseball stadium, see Shea Stadium
| Shea | |
|---|---|
| |
| Fruit on a Shea trea in Sudan | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Division: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Genus: | Vitellaria |
| Species: | V. paradoxa
|
| Binomial name | |
| Vitellaria paradoxa C.F.Gaertn.
| |
Shea (Vitellaria paradoxa, syn. Butyrospermum parkii, B. paradoxa) is a tree indigenous to Africa, occurring in Cameroon, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, and Uganda. The shea fruit, called a nut, contains a seed much like an avocado, from which is extracted shea butter, which has multiple uses.
Some common names are shétoulou ("shea tree butter") in the Bambara language of Mali and ghariti in the Wolof language of Senegal.
The tree is perhaps better known as Butyrospermum parkii (the genus name meaning "butter seed"; the epithet honouring Mungo Park, who learned of the tree while exploring Senegal). However, Vitellaria paradoxa is the earlier name and has priority, and should therefore be used (a proposal to conserve Butyrospermum parkii failed narrowly).
References
- Germplasm Resources Information Network: Vitellaria paradoxa
- Template:IUCN2006 www.softecare.com Listed as Vulnerable (VU A1cd v2.3)
 | This tree-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |