Cashew is the common name of a tropical evergreen tree Anacardium occidentale, in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, an accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as 14 metres, but the dwarf cultivars, growing up to 6 m (20 ft), prove more profitable, with earlier maturity and greater yields. The cashew nut is edible and is considered eaten on its own as a snack, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese or cashew butter. The nut is often simply called a 'cashew'. Cashew can cause allergies triggered by the proteins found in the nuts.
Tamarind is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae.
Sclerocarya birrea, commonly known as the marula, is a medium-sized deciduous fruit-bearing tree, indigenous to the miombo woodlands of Southern Africa, the Sudano-Sahelian range of West Africa, the savanna woodlands of East Africa and Madagascar.
The mongongo tree, mongongo nut or manketti tree is a member of the family Euphorbiaceae and of the monotypic genus Schinziophyton. A large, spreading tree, the mongongo reaches 15–20 metres tall. It is found on wooded hills and among sand dunes, and is associated with the Kalahari sand soil-types. The leaves are a distinctive hand-shape, and the pale yellow wood is similar in characteristics to balsa, being both lightweight and strong. The yellowish flowers occur in slender, loose sprays.
Ricinodendreae is a tribe of the subfamily Crotonoideae, under the family Euphorbiaceae. It comprises 3 genera.
Canarium ovatum, the pili, is a species of tropical tree belonging to the genus Canarium. It is one of approximately 600 species in the family Burseraceae. C. ovatum are native to the Philippines. They are commercially cultivated in the Philippines for their edible nuts and is believed to be indigenous to that country. The fruit and tree are often vulgarized with the umbrella term of "Java almond" which mixes multiple species of the same genus, Canarium.
Sideroxylon spinosum, known as argan or Argania, is a species of flowering plant. It is a tree endemic to the calcareous semi-desert Sous valley of southwestern Morocco and to the region of Tindouf in southwestern Algeria. Argan trees grow to 8–10 m (26–33 ft) high and live up to approximately 200 years. They are thorny, with gnarled trunks and wide spreading crown. The crown has a circumference of about 70 m (230 ft) and the branches lean towards the ground.
Irvingia gabonensis is a species of African trees in the genus Irvingia, sometimes known by the common names wild mango, African mango, or bush mango. They bear edible mango-like fruits, and are especially valued for their fat- and protein-rich nuts.
Astrocaryum murumuru is a palm native to Amazon Rainforest vegetation in Brazil, which bears edible fruits. Murumuru butter, extracted from the seeds of the plant, may be used as a moisturizer. One remarkable feature of this palm is that it is covered with spines up to twelve inches in length.
Dacryodes edulis is a fruit tree in the Burseraceae family native to Africa. Its various regional names include safou, plum (Cameroon), atanga, ube, elumi (Nigeria), African pear, bush pear, African plum, nsafu, bush butter tree, or butterfruit.
Jatropha curcas is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, that is native to the American tropics, most likely Mexico and Central America. It is originally native to the tropical areas of the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, and has been spread throughout the world in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, becoming naturalized or invasive in many areas. The specific epithet, "curcas", was first used by Portuguese doc Garcia de Orta more than 400 years ago. Common names in English include physic nut, Barbados nut, poison nut, bubble bush or purging nut. In parts of Africa and areas in Asia such as India it is often known as "castor oil plant" or "hedge castor oil plant", but it is not the same as the usual castor oil plant, Ricinus communis.
Cucumeropsis mannii is a species of melon native to tropical Africa west of the East African Rift, where it is grown for food and as a source of oil.
Balanites aegyptiaca is a species of tree, classified as a member of either the Zygophyllaceae or the Balanitaceae. This tree is native to much of Africa and parts of the Middle East.
Treculia africana is a tree species in the genus Treculia which can be used as a food plant and for various other traditional uses. The fruits are hard and fibrous, can be the size of a volleyball and weight up to 8.5 kg (19 lb). Chimpanzees have been observed to use tools to break the fruits into small pieces that they can eat. The fruits contain polyphenols.
Telfairia pedata, commonly known as oysternut, queen's nut, Zanzibar oilvine, kweme or kulekula, is a dioecious African liana which can grow up to 30 metres long, having purple-pink fringed flowers, and very large, many-seeded, drooping, ellipsoid berries which can weigh up to 15 kg. It is valuable for having edible fruit, seeds and oil.
Detarium microcarpum, commonly known as sweet detar, sweet dattock or tallow tree, is an underutilized species of tree legume that grows naturally in the drier regions of West and Central Africa. It has a wide range of uses due to its medicinal properties, edible fruit and hardwood, which is used as fuel. This makes it valuable and appreciated by local communities, but further research and effort are needed for its domestication.
Vateria indica oil is extracted from the seeds of the Vateria indica plant, a species in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The Vateria indica plant is indigenous to the Western Ghats, Kerala and Tamil Nadu regions of India. It thrives in the evergreen forests, surviving up to 800 meters above sea level. Oil from the seeds of the plant is extracted through a chemical refining process which makes the plant edible.
Phulwara oil is extracted from seeds of Phulwara tree. Phulwara Trees are also known locally as Chiuri Trees, Kaeleb Trees, or Butter Nut Trees. Refined Phulwara Oil is marketed as Phulwara Ghee.
Allanblackia oil is a vegetable oil that comes from the seeds of trees of the genus Allanblackia. This tree can be found in the wet tropical belt of Africa. Because of its unique blend of fatty acids, the oil from Allanblackia seeds has melting properties that make it excellent to use as structuring fat in food products, e.g. margarines.
