Description:
Donga region, Benin. Flowers of the shea tree at the end of their bloom. Young fruit can be seen. The flowers are smelly and honey-yielding. The tree starts flowering and bearing fruit annually starting at age 15 and for 100 to 200 years. A tree can live to 300 years of age. Full fruit production starts at 20 to 30 years of age, the average yield being around 20 kg of fresh fruit per adult tree. These in turn make 6 kg of dry shea nuts or 2 kg of shea butter.