Folk Classification of Shea Butter Tree (Vitellaria paradoxa subsp. nilotica) Ethno-varieties in Uganda

Exploring local knowledge and preferences for shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) ethnovarieties in Southwest Burkina Faso through a gender and ethnic lens

“…Contrary to what has been reported in Uganda (Gwali et al 2011), this study has shown some consistency in the folk classification systems for shea across ethnic groups in southwest Burkina Faso. There was agreement across groups about key variables defining the classification system, and different ethnic groups within a given village and gender group cited 50 per cent or more of the same ethnovarieties.…”

“…This corresponds with previous findings that farmers in Uganda have a general sense of the quantity and quality of butter provided by different shea ethnovarieties, but do not establish ethnovarieties based on these characteristics (Gwali et al 2011). In this study, Bobo women explained that nuts from different shea ethnovarieties are mixed together at the time of butter processing, making it difficult to assign clear shea butter traits to individual trees or ethnovarieties.…”

“…This account for the overlaps observed in the ethnovarieties cited. Still greater overlaps were reported in Uganda, where women's and men's classification knowledge of V. paradoxa (subspecies nilotica) ethnovarieties strongly matched (Gwali et al 2011).…”

“…For instance, in Uganda, Gwali et al (2011) describe the local classification of shea into 44 ethnovarieties based on variations in fruit yield, tree form, and pulp taste, among other factors. The larger number of ethnovarieties identified in their study may owe to the fact that three Ugandan farming systems were visited -which could have resulted in a greater number of shea phenotypes -while only one was visited in Burkina Faso.…”

Gender, knowledge-sharing and management of shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) parklands in central-west Burkina Faso

“…differences in women's and men's knowledge and management of the species (Gwali et al, 2011a(Gwali et al, , 2011b. 1 Yet, the gendered dynamics surrounding the selective conservation and management of shea trees have not been systematically studied.…”