Argania sideroxylon.

Botanical name: 

Argania sideroxylon Roem. et Schult. Sapotaceae. Argan Tree. Morocco Iron-Wood.

Morocco. From the seeds, the natives extract an oil that is used for cooking and lighting. When ripe, the fruit, which is an egg-shaped drupe, falls from the trees and the goats then enter into competition with their masters for a share in the harvest. The goats, however, swallow the fruit only for the sake of the subacid rind and, being unable to digest the hard seeds, eject them during the process of rumination, when they are gathered and added to the general store for oil making.


Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, 1919, was edited by U. P. Hedrick.