shea tree

noun

ˈshē- 

ˈshā-

: a tropical African tree (Vitellaria paradoxa synonym Butyrospermum parkii) of the sapodilla family with fatty nuts that yield shea butter

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Hanahana provides health education to shea butter producers and farmers in rural communities across northern Ghana, as well as equipment improvements for production, and advocacy for shea tree protections. —Darcel Rockett, Chicago Tribune, 16 Mar. 2023

In fact, the storied history of this emollient — which comes from the nut of the shea tree, common in sub-Saharan Africa — apparently dates all the way back to Cleopatra herself, who was said to always keep a jar of it on hand. —Rosemary Donahue, Allure, 1 Mar. 2022

The shea butter comes from two oily kernels within the shea tree seed. —Howard Garrett, Dallas News, 5 Apr. 2021

Shea butter is a seed fat that comes from the shea tree. —Howard Garrett, Dallas News, 5 Apr. 2021

Shea butter is a lipid that's produced from the nuts of the shea tree. —Sabina Wizemann, Good Housekeeping, 28 Dec. 2020

In Northern Ghana, where much of the world’s shea butter is produced, collectives of women make a living by processing the nuts of the shea tree into butter. —Amanda Shapiro, Bon Appetit, 6 Feb. 2018

The Katariga women begin by buying shea nuts in bulk or collecting the shea nuts from dense forests of shea trees, then boiling them for about half an hour until their shells come off, as in the photo above. —Amanda Shapiro, Bon Appetit, 6 Feb. 2018

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Word History

Etymology

Bambara si

First Known Use

1799, in the meaning defined above