botanical record · discovered
Butterseed
Vitellaria paradoxa
Butterseed · Shea Nut · Shea-Butter-Tree · Sheatree · Shea · Albero del burro · Karitébaum · Nkuto dua · Schibaum · Schibutterbaum · Shea Butter Tree · Sheanussbaum · Yokouti · arbre à beurre · bambouk-buttertree · butirospermo · carité · cárei · edu
At a glance
Origin / distribution: CD
Cultural traditions: not documented
Recorded uses: not documented
Science studied: ALLANTOIN, ALPHA-AMYRIN, BETA-AMYRIN, ARGININE
Research volume: 0 indexed records · volume only · methodology ↗
Legal status: Varies by jurisdiction; not assessed in this record.
Names and identity
Family: Sapotaceae
Scientific name: Vitellaria paradoxa
Common names: Butterseed, Shea Nut, Shea-Butter-Tree, Sheatree, Shea, Albero del burro, Karitébaum, Nkuto dua, Schibaum, Schibutterbaum, Shea Butter Tree, Sheanussbaum, Yokouti, arbre à beurre, bambouk-buttertree, butirospermo, carité, cárei, edu
POWO: 790034-1 · WCVP June 2026 / POWO backbone
History
The source record documents this plant in CD.
Documented historical or traditional applications are not available in this record.
This summary is limited to the cited source record.
Origins and distribution
- CD
Documented cultural uses
not documented in this record
Contemporary uses
Contemporary practice is not documented separately in this record.
Scientific research
Indexed records indicate research activity; they do not establish efficacy or safety.
Indexed research records
- Morphological and genetic variability of Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn populations across a climate gradient in Benin (West Africa) · 2026 source ↗
- Temporal and spatial variability in photosynthetic activity of Vitellaria paradoxa in agroforestry parklands of Burkina Faso · 2025 source ↗
- Enhancing growth and graft success of shea (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn) through targeted inoculation with indigenous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi · 2026 source ↗
Scientific compounds
Chemical presence is not evidence of clinical efficacy.
- ALLANTOIN
- ALPHA-AMYRIN
- BETA-AMYRIN
- ARGININE
- ASH
- BASSEOL
- CALCIUM
- CARBOHYDRATES
- CYSTINE
- FAT
- FIBER
- IRON
- KILOCALORIES
- LEUCINE
- LINOLEIC-ACID
- LUPEOL
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- OLEIC-ACID
- PALMITIC-ACID
- PARKEOL
- PHENYLALANINE
- PHOSPHORUS
- PHYTOSTEROLS
- PROTEIN
- STEARIC-ACID
- STIGMASTEROL
- THIAMIN
- TRYPTOPHAN
- VALINE
- ALPHA-AMYRENONE
- BETA-AMYRENONE
- BUTYROSPERMENONE
- BUTYROSPERMOL
- DAMMARADIENOL
- EUPHOL
- FIXED-OIL
- GERMANICOL
- LANOSTEROL
- LINOLENIC-ACID
- MYRISTIC-ACID
- PALMITOLEIC-ACID
- PSEUDOTARAXASTEROL
- TARAXASTEROL
- TARAXEROL
- TIRUCALLA-7-24-DIEN-3-BETA-OL
- 24-METHYLENE-DAMMARENOL
- 24-METHYLENE-LANOST-9(11)-EN-3-BETA-OL
Legality
No exact international trade listing was returned by the CITES checklist for this accepted name. Country-specific law is not assessed here.
Consult the CITES species checklist for current international and national requirements.
Reference images
Sources
Plants of the World Online (POWO) · Kew data terms; cite POWO/WCVP
World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP) · CC BY 3.0
show claim source mapping
CC0 · Dr. Duke raw CSV archive
Contributions and revisions
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