Its various regional names include safou (Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola), messa, plum (Cameroon), atanga (Equatorial Guinea and Gabon), ube, elumi/rukuki (Nigeria),[2][3] African pear, bush pear, African plum, nsafu, bush butter tree, or butterfruit.

The natural range extends from Angola in the South, Nigeria and Sierra Leone in the West and Uganda in the East.

[5] D. edulis has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.

[6] The main use of D. edulis is its fruit, which can be eaten either raw, cooked in salt water or roasted.

The seed of Dacryodes edulis is rich in different proportion of carbohydrates, proteins, crude fibres, appreciable amounts of potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus.

[8] Physicochemical analysis suggested that the seed have valuable functional attributes of industrial interest.

[9] The important natural product, gallic acid, is found in significant quantity in the seed of Dacryodes edulis.

[citation needed] It has long been used in the traditional medicine of some African countries to treat various ailments such as wounds, skin diseases,[vague] dysentery, and fever.

[12] A wide range of chemical constituents such as terpenes, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, and saponins have been isolated from the plant.

The tree is used as an ornamental plant and is known to improve soil quality by providing large quantities of biomass.