The marula tree (Sclerocarya birrea, A. Rich.; Hoscht subspecies caffra, Sond) is a member of the Anacardiaceae which encompasses 73 genera and 600 species (Pretorius et al., 1985). This tree is distributed throughout Africa with its southern most location in the lowlands of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) from where it extends northwards through tropical Africa into Ethiopia and Sudan (VanWyk, 1974). Of all fruit trees indigenous to South Africa, the marula has received most attention in terms of domestication and commercialization (Shackleton, 1996). Several products such as beer, juice, jam and jelly have been developed from the mesocarp and successfully marketed, the most recent being a marula liqueur (Burger et al., 1987). Despite the traditional and commercial uses, the flavour constituents remain poorly studied, especially for the pericarp. Ripe marula fruit can be consumed by biting or cutting through the thick leathery skin and sucking the juice or chewing the mucilaginous flesh after removal of the skin. The ripe fruit has an average vitamin C content of 168 mg/100 g which is approximately three times that of oranges and comparable to the amounts present in guavas (Wilson, 1980). Bark and leaf infusions are often used to treat boils, malaria and diarrhoea (Shone, 1979). The seed oil is used as cosmetic and to preserve meat (Shone, 1979). Despite the several commercial uses of marula, the volatile constituents of the fruits are poorly studied. As part of the investigation on South African fruit flavours, we reported here the volatile constituents of the marula fruit pulp and the intact whole fruit volatiles.