Vitellaria

***Vitellaria paradoxa*** (formerly *Butyrospermum parkii*), commonly be known as **shea tree**, **shi tree** (/ˈʃiː(ə)/, sanso be /ʃeɪ/), anaa **vitellaria**, be a tree of de family Sapotaceae. E be de species per insyd de genus ***Vitellaria***, wey ebe indigenous to Africa.

De shea fruit dey consist of a thin, tart, nutritious pulp wey dey surround a relatively large, oil-rich seed from wich dem dey extract shea butter. E be a deciduous tree usually  tall, buh e reach  den a trunk diameter of .

De shea tree be a traditional African food plant. Na dem say e get potential make e improve nutrition, boost food supply insyd de "annual hungry season", foster rural development, den support sustainable land care.

## Description
De tree start dey bear ein first fruit wen e be 10 to 15 years old; e dey attain full production wen de tree dey about 20 to 30 years old. E then dey produce nuts for up to 200 years.

De fruits dey resemble large plums 4 to 8 centimetres long wey dey weigh between 10 den 57 grams each. Dese fruits dey take 4 to 6 months make dem ripe; de average yield be  of fresh fruit per tree, plus optimum yields up to . Each kilogram of fruit dey give approximately  of dry seeds. De fruit be edible.

## Nomenclature den taxonomy
*Vitellaria* be a monotypic genus, i.e., e dey comprise one species per. Na dem know de species e get chaw botanically as *Vitellaria paradoxa*, *Butyrospermum parkii*, den *Butyrospermum paradoxum*. Na chaw botanical works from de late 19th den much of de 20th centuries use de name *Butyrospermum parkii*, wich still be commonly found insyd de cosmetics trade. However, *Vitellaria paradoxa* be de oldest name (dem publish insyd 1807) wey na e be generally used for recent decades insyd, as dem necessitate by de rules of botanical nomenclature; efforts insyd 1962 make dem make *Butyrospermum* de official scientific name give de genus (i.e., make dem "conserve" de name) na ebe unsuccessful.

De species dey comprise two subspecies: 

*Vitellaria paradoxa* subsp. *paradoxa*  (roughly from de Nigeria-Cameroon border westward).

*Vitellaria paradoxa* subsp. *nilotica* (Kotschy) A.N. Henry & Chithra & N.C. Nair (roughly from de Nigeria-Cameroon border eastward).

## Distribution den habitat

De shea tree dey grow naturally insyd de wild insyd de dry savannah belt of West den South from Senegal insyd de west to Sudan den South Sudan insyd de east, den onto de foothills of de Ethiopian highlands. E dey occur insyd 19 countries across de African continent, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, den Guinea. De habitat area dey extend over more dan .

A testa dem find for de site of de medieval village of Saouga be evidence of shea butter production by de 14th century.

## Uses
Shea butter get chaw uses wey fi be anaa no fi be refined. Insyd de West ebe most commonly used as an emollient insyd cosmetics wey ebe less commonly used for chow insyd. Thru out Africa e be used extensively for chow, e be a major source of dietary fat, den for medicinal purposes. Insyd Ghana den Nigeria, shea butter be a major ingredient for making de African black soap.

De edible protein-rich caterpillars of de moth *Cirina butyrospermi* wich dey feed solely for ein leaves be widely collected wey dem dey chop am raw, dried anaa fried.

### Composition of shea butter

Shea butter extract be a complex fat dat in addition to chaw nonsaponifiable components (substances wey dem no fi fully convert dem into soap by treatment plus alkali) dey contain de fatty acids wey dey follow: oleic acid (40–60%), stearic acid (20–50%), linoleic acid (3–11%), palmitic acid (2–9%), linolenic acid (

## External links

* Vitellaria paradoxa. In: Brunken, U., et al. 2008. *West African Plants — A Photo Guide*. Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Frankfurt/Main.