Figure 1: A marula tree showing its shape and a close-up of the bark (inset).

Figure 2: (Above) The compound leaf of a marula tree with fruit.

Figure 3: (Left) Marula fruit and the marula pip showing where seed kernels have been extracted.

Figure 4: Making marula jelly and juice.

Figure 5: The inner bark can be rubbed onto itchy skin or plaited into strong cordage.

In this article of his series on bushcraft, Cleve Cheney discusses the identification and use of plants, giving special attention to the marula.

A knowledge of plants and their uses is a bush skill that every lover of the outdoors should have. Plants have survival value, as many of them can be used for food or for medicinal purposes. Certain animals have a preference for certain plants and vegetation types, and being aware of this can assist the hunter in knowing where to look for certain species.

In this series on “knowing your plants” we will look at a number of aspects: how to identify the plant in question, what its uses are, and how the plant is utilised by animals. Identifying a plant correctly is very important, especially if you want to use it for food or its medicinal properties. Some plants are very toxic and ingesting them could prove to be fatal, so you must be sure it has been identified correctly. In a survival context we may not have access to medicines and there are many plants which can provide effective remedies.

The first plant we will look at is the marula, which has the scientific name of Sclerocarya birrea.

Marula
Marulas are the survivor’s dream. It is a medium-sized, single-stemmed tree that grows to a height of about 15 metres. The rough bark is mottled and made up of contrasting pale brown and grey patches. The marula tree grows in many parts of Africa and is always well looked after by the local inhabitants because they are fully aware of the uses of its fruits.

The tree has a round to spreading crown and loses its leaves in the winter. The leaves are compound, with 7 to 13 pairs of paired leaflets and a terminal leaf. Marula trees are found in the north-eastern parts of South Africa. The fruit is green when unripe, turning to pale yellow when ripe, and is found on the tree from January to March. The marula fruit has a diameter of about 30 millimetres. See figures 1 and 2.

Food value
The astringent and very pleasant-tasting fruit is much sought after by both humans and animals. Elephant are particularly partial to marulas and their dung is full of the fruit during the fruit-bearing months of the year. The fruit is highly nutritious, with a vitamin C content two to four times that of orange juice. It also contains calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, and the sugars fructose, glucose and sucrose. Trees can produce between half a tonne and three tonnes of fruit per year. The fruit pip also contains small nuts which are highly nutritious and tasty, if somewhat difficult to extract. The arrow in figure 3 shows where nuts have been taken out of a pip. The little caps are prised off and the kernels fished out of the recesses with a sharp-pointed instrument like a piece of wire, a nail, or a knife point. The fruit can be used to make beer, syrup, liqueur, jelly and sweets. The high pectin content makes it ideal for jelly, and in this article we are going to show you how to make jelly and syrup concentrate for a delicious cool drink.

Drinks and jelly
Start by collecting fruit that has fallen off the tree. Select greenish to pale yellow fruit. Fruit that is greener has a higher pectin content, so pick more greener than riper fruits. Wash the fruits, then place them in a pot and add enough cold water to cover them. Bring to the boil. Allow the water-fruit mixture to boil for about an hour. Now take a piece of cloth and cover a jug or other container with it. Then pour the water off the marulas through this cloth to strain it. Once the juice has strained through the cloth it is poured back into a pot and the fruits are discarded. Now add sugar to the juice at a concentration of one cup of sugar to every cup of liquid. Stir the sugar in until it is dissolved. The juice is now going to be concentrated by boiling. As the liquid is reduced in volume by the boiling, it should begin to thicken. If it does not do so readily it might be an indication that the pectin content is too low (you have used too much ripe fruit and too little green fruit). To help the jellification along you can do one of the following:
• Add lemon juice (juice from one lemon for every three to four kilogrammes of fruit).
• Add ½ teaspoon of citric acid or tartaric acid for every three to four kilogrammes of fruit.
• Add 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar for every three to four kilogrammes of fruit.
Allow the concentrated liquid to cool. Prepare containers for the jelly concentrate by sterilising jars and lids for five to ten minutes in boiling water. Spoon or pour the warm jelly into the containers. Place a wax-paper cover between the lid and the top of the jelly. This prevents contact with metal, which could reduce the shelf life of the jelly.

You now have a delicious jelly which can be used on bread or toast or with meat, or as a topping with ice cream. Use your imagination. To make a delicious cool drink, place some of the jelly concentrate into a glass and add water. Stir briskly to dissolve the jelly in the water (see figure 4).

Beer, sweets, oil
Marula beer is a very popular drink enjoyed by rural communities and is prepared by allowing juice extracts to ferment. Marula liqueur is also produced commercially. Marula sweets can be made by reducing the fruit concentrate and allowing it to solidify to a toffee-like constituency. Marula nuts contain up to 56% oil, which can be pressed from the nut and used as a preservative. The nuts can be eaten raw or roasted and are also high in protein.

Medicinal value
The bark of the marula tree contains nearly 21% tannin and some alkaloids, and decoctions (boiling the bark in hot water) made from the bark are used to treat diarrhoea and dysentery. The antidiarrhoeal effects have been experimentally linked to procyanidins, which are also found in the bark. The moist inner bark has antihistaminic properties and can be rubbed onto insect bites and hairy-caterpillar stings to relieve itching. See figure 5. Burns and abscesses are treated with an essence extracted from the leaves. Chewing fresh leaves and swallowing the astringent juice is an effective remedy for indigestion.

Marula is popular wood for carving. Cordage can be made from the inner bark. Marula leaves and fruit are utilised by elephant, giraffe, eland, kudu, waterbuck, and warthog. Meyer’s parrots feed on the kernels of green fruit.

References
Daly, R.R. (1990): Staying alive: A Southern African Survival Handbook. Ashanti Publishing. Davies, B. (2002): The Encyclopedia of Outdoor Survival. Lewis International. McCann, J.D. (2005): Build the perfect survival kit. Krause Publications. McManners, H. (1994): The Complete Survival Manual. Southern Book Publishers. Mears, R. (1990): The Survival Handbook. Oxford Illustrated Press. Kochanski, M. (1987): Bushcraft. Lone Pine Publishing. Lewis, J and Combs, R: The Gun Digest Book of Knives 3rd Ed. DBI Books. Nyerges, C. (2006): How to survive anywhere. Stackpole Books.