Masuku

Mazhanje, the fruit of the mushuku tree, is Zimbabwe’s favourite seasonal treat – sold by the basketful along roads and at markets.

Uapaca kirkiana is a small evergreen tree growing to 5–12 m, with a compact, rounded crown and large, leathery leaves clustered at the twig tips. The trees are dioecious – male and female flowers develop on separate individuals. The round, yellowish-brown, plum-sized fruits have sweet, juicy flesh surrounding several seeds. The species is characteristic of miombo woodland and copes well with poor, stony soils.

Significance in the country

Mazhanje fruits ripen at the end of the dry season and the start of the rainy season, and gathering them and selling them by the roadside is an important source of income for rural families. They are picked from wild trees, and the mazhanje season is a fixture of the calendar in both the countryside and the towns.

Where it grows

Grows in the miombo woodland of the central and eastern plateau – in the provinces of Mashonaland East, Central and West, Manicaland, the Midlands and Masvingo, most often on stony hills.

More: Wikipedia (en)