Bush butter tree, African-pear

Where does Bush butter tree grow?

Found in: Africa, Angola, Asia, Australia, Benin, Cabinda, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo DR, Congo R, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Equatorial-Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Malawi, Malaysia, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Southern Africa, Togo, Uganda, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Status: An important fruit tree in Cameroon and Nigeria. Fruit are sold in local markets. They are exported.

Growing Bush butter tree, African-pear

Cultivation: Plants are grown from seed. Seed should be sown within one week. Seeds germinate about 2 weeks after planting. Air layering is possible and enables trees of known sex to be chosen. The layers take 6 months before being ready to remove. 5% of the trees in an area should be male. Plants can be budded.

Edible Uses: The pulp is eaten after softening in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. They can also be roasted. The fruit can be preserved by removing the seed, boiling the pulp then drying it.

Production: Early plant growth is rapid. Growth occurs in flushes. Both male and female trees are needed for fruit. Fruit are produced after 5-6 years when grown from seeds. Fruit matures about 5 months after flowering. A mature tree can produce over 100 kg of fruit each year.

Nutrition Info

References

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