This Issue Contains:
SHEA TREE ECOLOGY
SHEA BUTTER TIP
AFRICA ISSUES
NEWS FOR THE NEW YEAR
THANK YOU

SHEA TREE ECOLOGY
The shea tree, Vitellaria paradoxa, is perfectly adapted to the West African savanna. It is a light-demanding species and, as a result, grows best in the open savanna. It has an extensive root system, which allows the tree to survive the long dry seasons. The thick, fissured bark protects the tree from the annual dry season bush fires. Shea trees are often found in pure stands or mixed with other trees, such as Parkia biglobosa (nere). Shea trees avoid swampy areas, those liable to flooding for any length of time, moist heavy loam soils or watercourses.

Shea trees have leaves year round, but old leaves are shed in the middle and end of the dry season, and trees are in full leaf by the onset of the rainy season. Flowering lasts from 4 to 11 weeks, and begins near the middle of the dry seasons when humidity begins to rise. Flowers are hermaphroditic and occur in an inflorescence containing 30-40 flowers. Individual flowers are white or creamy-white, about 1.5 cm (0.6 in) in diameter. Fruiting begins at the end of the dry season. Fruits take 4-6 months to develop, and reach maturity early in the rainy season. Mature fruits are an elliptical, yellow-green or yellow berry 5-8 cm (2-3 in) long and 3-4 cm (0.8-1.2 in) wide that contain a single reddish seed.

Plant - Animal Relations
Shea trees are pollinated by insects, especially bees. Bees also form their colonies within holes and dead branches of old and fire damaged shea trees. Shea trees are also important for placing hives in traditional apiculture, since they furnish the bees with a great quantity of nectar and pollen (Millogo 1989).

The fruits are a source of food for a wide range of animals. A large variety of birds, ungulates and primates, including humans, eat them, dispersing the seed in the process. Shea fruits are also an important part of the diet of elephants in the Djona hunting zone in Benin (Tehou and Sinsi 2000)

Human Ecology
Paleobotanical evidence and recent range expansion of the species indicate human involvement in Vitellaria dispersal across the West African savanna. A recent study of Vitellaria fruit traits in central Burkina Faso suggests that humans have selected for desired characteristics, such as fruit size and shape, pulp sweetness, and kernel fat content (Maranz and Wiesman 2003). However, another study proposes that such conscious tree improvement is limited, since true to type varieties are difficult to propagate (Lovett and Haq 2000). These authors do show, however, that large trees were more common on farmed land, a result of local farmers eliminating unwanted woody species on farmland, leaving only those shea trees that meet criteria based on spacing, size, growth, health, age and yield. Kelly et al. (2004) concluded that farmers' practices in Mali can influence girth size as well as spatial distribution of shea trees. They found that shea trees were denser in forests than in farmer's fields, and that lower densities in the fields resulted in larger trees and higher fruit yields.

Sources:
Kelly, B. A., J. Bouvet and N. Picard. 2004. Size class distribution and spatial pattern of Vitellaria paradoxa in relation to farmers' practices in Mali. Agroforestry Systems 60:3-11.

Lovett, PN and N. Haq. 2000. Evidence for anthropic selection of the Sheanut tree (Vitellaria paradoxa). Agroforestry Systems 48(3): 273-288

Maranz, S. and Z. Wiesman. 2003. Evidence for indigenous selection and distribution of the shea tree, Vitellaria paradoxa, and its potential significance to prevailing parkland savanna tree patterns in sub-Saharan Africa north of the equator Journal of Biogeography 30(10).

Millogo RJ. 1989. Burkina Faso: importance to beekeeping of the butter tree, Butyrospermum paradoxum, and the locust bean tree, Parkia biglobosa. Revue Francaise d'Apiculture, No. 482, p. 72-74.

Tehou,A.C. and Sinsin,B. 2000. The ecology of elephant (Loxodonta africana) populations in the Djona hunting zone (Benin). Ecologie de la population d'elephants (Loxodonta africana) de la zone Cynegetique de Djona (Benin). Mammalia 64:(1):29-40

SHEA BUTTER TIP
Use shea butter to lubricate molds when melting and re-forming our African black soap. This will help with the release of the soap.

AFRICA ISSUES
Throughout the year, BBC publishes photo journals of life in Africa. See the winning entry for 2004 at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4073465.stm 1 This story shows a teacher's struggle to educate HIV-positive orphans in a poor suburb of Kampala, Uganda. While this is a specific case, it does illustrate some of the difficulties schools in African countries face, and supports our mission to help by donating supplies and equipment to schools in our communities.

Darfur Update: Peace talks are under way in Abuja in Nigeria between the Sudanese government and rebels from the western region. The aim of the talks is to find a political solution to the conflict in Darfur, which has claimed about 70,000 lives. However, despite a positive end to earlier discussions, the mood has been soured by renewed violence, and UN has threatened to withdraw if attacks on aid workers continue. Withdrawal of aid workers could lead to hundreds of thousands of deaths from hunger and preventable disease. The organization's relief coordinator, Jan Egeland, said aid agencies had enough food and medicines to help and it would be tragic if those supplies could not be used.

NEWS FOR THE NEW YEAR
A fresh shipment of premium unrefined shea butter and virgin oils will arrive the first week of January.

To celebrate the New Year, we are offering 1 free pound of shea butter with every purchase over $100 during the month of January. Please mention this newsletter offer when placing a phone order or type it in the special order instructions when making an online order.

THANK YOU
We at Agbanga Karite thank you all for your support during 2004 and wish you a peaceful holiday season and all the best luck for the New Year

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Copyright 2004-2005 Agbanga Karite Group

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