Maerua is a genus of flowering plants in the family Capparaceae, belonging to the order Brassicales. It comprises around 70 accepted species of shrubs and small trees, with its centre of diversity across sub-Saharan Africa. The range of the genus extends from Africa northward to the Levant and eastward to the Indian subcontinent and mainland Southeast Asia, reflecting a broad distribution across seasonally dry tropical and subtropical habitats.
Plants of the genus are typically shrubs or small trees adapted to arid and semi-arid conditions. Several species have documented ethnobotanical importance: the leaves of Maerua crassifolia, perhaps the best-known member of the genus, are eaten in parts of the Sahel and central Africa, where they are prepared as soups and other dishes under local names such as jiga. The foliage also serves as dry-season fodder, particularly for camels, across arid zones of Africa and Arabia. The species was considered sacred in ancient Egypt.
The genus name Maerua traces to the 18th-century Swedish botanist and explorer Peter Forsskål, who encountered the plant during his travels in Yemen in the 1760s and named the genus after the Arabic word Meru (مرو), the local name for Maerua crassifolia in Yemen.
Etymology
The genus name Maerua was coined by the 18th-century Swedish naturalist Peter Forsskål, who visited Yemen in the 1760s. He derived it from Meru (مرو), the Arabic name used locally in Yemen for Maerua crassifolia.
Distribution
The genus is centred in sub-Saharan Africa, where most of its approximately 70 species occur. Its range extends northward to the Levant and eastward to the Indian subcontinent and mainland Southeast Asia. Individual species, such as Maerua crassifolia, are found across North and East Africa, tropical Arabia, and the eastern Mediterranean.
Cultural Uses
Several species of Maerua have longstanding food and fodder uses across Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The leaves of Maerua crassifolia are consumed in the Sahel and central Africa, where they are prepared as soups and mixed dishes (known locally as jiga). Kel Ewey Tuareg communities in the Aïr Mountains of Niger used the cooked leaves mixed with goat milk as a regular dietary staple as recently as the 1980s. Foliage of the genus is also widely used as dry-season fodder for camels and other livestock. Maerua crassifolia was considered sacred in ancient Egyptian culture.
