butter tree

American  

noun

1. any of several tropical trees of the sapodilla family, having seeds that yield a butterlike oil.

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Etymology

Origin of butter tree

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

butter tree

In the central portions of Africa a most remarkable three, called the butter tree, is found.

From The World and Its People: Book VII Views in Africa by Badlam, Anna B.

Description of the shea, or vegetable butter tree.

From Life and Travels of Mungo Park in Central Africa by Park, Mungo

After bathing they anoint themselves with the oil from the butter tree.

From The World and Its People: Book VII Views in Africa by Badlam, Anna B.

These steamers carry on an exchange of European goods for ivory, palm oil, and butter from the olivelike seeds of the butter tree.

From The World and Its People: Book VII Views in Africa by Badlam, Anna B.

I was next employed in collecting the fruit of a species of bassia, or what I should call a butter tree.

From Mark Seaworth by Kingston, William Henry Giles