It is exotic in Israel, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania and in the Republic of Yemen. It is a wild species, but also subject to domestication trials, where it was sent to other arid regions, but with poor response, except for Voi, Kenya, where fruits are produced successfully since 1957. Today there is germplasm collection in Ethiopia (ILRI Addis Ababa), Kenya (National Genebank, Kikuyu) and the USA (Southern Regional Plant Introduction Station, Griffin, Georgia).
