How to Plant Baobab Seeds, Growing a baobab tree

Tags: Baobab seeds, Botanic of the Baobab tree, Growing a baobab

For Indoors: Place in a warm place (minimum temperature 53°F/12°C) and near a well-lit window. In some areas it will be possible to place it outside between the months of June and September. Water it generously when the clod is dry, but it can be up to one month before it needs more watering. Continue watering even if the baobab tree loses its leaves during winter. You can grow your baobab indoors in a pot, with a large basin or tray for the tree’s water reserve. The baobab tree needs to be repotted every two years. Trim the roots of the baobab back to one third of their current length. Choose a large clay pot with holes in the bottom. Fill it with a mixture of 70% compost and 30% sand. Pot it and water it as soon as it arrives.
Our grower complies with the rules of fair trade principle of international solidarity in favor of developing countries. He has been practicing fair trade for many years to provide his employees a decent living by guaranteeing a fair income for all, including women and people living in need, and to protect children from exploitation.

Baobab Tree Plant bareroot seedlings fair trade

Properties and uses: The baobab is one of the most useful trees of the Sahel. Because of its usefulness, it is protected and respected by the local inhabitants. It provides shade and acts as a natural landmark which makes it ideal as a gathering place for markets or other events. The leaves are rich in calcium, iron, protein and fat, which makes it a valuable food supplement. The fruit is commonly called « monkey bread ». Its pulp is made into drinks that are rich in vitamins B1 and C. The young seedlings and their roots are eaten like asparagus. The black seeds, enclosed in the flesh of the fruit; can be roasted and eaten. They contain more protein than peanuts and have a higher percentage of lysine (an amino acid essential to growth) than in other legumes. When the sap rises, farmers extract the fibers from the bark to make rope. The wood, which is soft and spongy, is hardly used. It does, however, hold a lot of water, up to 10,000 liters in the big trees. In case of scarcity, men and animals chew on to ease their thirst.Old trees often contain natural or excavated cavities that are used either as water tanks, or granary and other provisions, or either of refuge or place of burial. It has a high resistance to fire and drought. He knows very few enemies: The young trees are destroyed by fire or livestock, the greatest are damaged by elephants that break branches, old trees are struck by lightning, overturned by the storm or collapse.

Foliage: Caduc during the dry season.
Flowering: Late season dry or just before the first rains, often before the first leaves.
Soil: Slightly acid to limestone, rather dry.
Climate: Temperatures above 12 ° C.
Exposure: Full light.

Tags: Baobab Tree Plant, Botanic of the Baobab tree

学術的に見ると…

バオバブは、キワタ科（bombacaceae）Adansonia 属の樹木です。アフリカ、マダガスカル、オーストラリアに約９種があり、そのうち６～７種がマダガスカルに特有の種類です。マダガスカル最大の樹は幹が直径７ｍ、樹高３０ｍ、樹齢５００年以上に達すると推定されます。学名のAdansonia は、この木の発見者のフランス人植物学者 M.Adanson にちなんでいます。

バオバブは、キワタ科（bombacaceae）Adansonia

マダガスカルってどんなところ？

アフリカ大陸の東のインド洋に浮かぶ世界第４の大きな島で、独特な動植物で知られています。ここの住民は、1500年ほど前に東南アジアから移り住んだ人々の子孫と言われており、人口約1200万人の独立国です。米を主食とし、水田のある風景は“アフリカの中のアジア”という表現がピッタリです。

バオバブの木は何かの役に立つの？

バオバブの木は、その姿が人を感動させるだけでなく、とても役に立つ木です。果実の中の甘酸っぱいパルプ質の果肉がお菓子や清涼飲料水に、堅い果実の殻は容器に利用されます。マダガスカルでは地方によって種子から油を採り、樹皮を家の屋根や壁に用いたりロープの材料や薬にします。アフリカでは葉を乾燥して粉にし、野菜のない季節の保存食品とします。変わった使い方として、生きた木の幹をくりぬいて貯水タンクにしたり（マダガスカル南東部）、自然にできた木のウロをお墓（アフリカ）や、牢屋（オーストラリア）にする例があります。

バオバブの木はなぜ絶滅の心配があるの？

バオバブはもともと森の中に生える木です。放牧地の開発などで森が焼き払われた時、火に強いバオバブの木は生き残り、草原にバオバブだけがそびえ立つ景色となります。その景色はすばらしく、感動的でさえあるのですが、このような草原では種子が稔っても若木が育つことはなくなり、老木が死に絶えると絶滅することになるのです。マダガスカルでは今、このような状況がどんどん進行しています。

どんな方法でバオバブの木を保護するの？

バオバブの木を保護するには、バオバブが生える森をそっくり保護するのが一番です。しかし、すでに森が荒れている所も多いのが現状です。そのような場所では森を復元し、そこにバオバブの苗木を植えてゆくことが望まれます。森の中なら、やがて植えたバオバブが大きくなって果実を稔らせ、その種子からまた新しい若木が育っていくことが期待できるのです。

「バオバブの木 里親」基金とは、どのような基金ですか？

マダガスカル南部で取り組んでいる活動は、失われ行く貴重な森とそこに生きる動植物を、森の恵みで生活する人たち自身の力で守ってゆくことを目指しています。この基金は、バオバブの苗木の里親となられる方々からの募金を、現地育苗センターへの整備、荒れ果てた森を元に戻すための苗木作りと植え込み、森とその資源を守るための子供たちへの教育、地元住民の生活環境の改善、自然観察ガイド養成と貴重な動植物の保護などに役立たせていただこうとする資金です。

里親にはどのような役割や特典があるのですか？

* お申し込みとご送金次第、本会本部と現地事務所に里親として登録し、本部より領収書と関係資料をお送りします。また、現地に植え込んだ苗が活着したことが確認された後に、現地から感謝状が送付されます。
* 里親に代わり、現地スタッフが種子から育てたバオバブの苗木を募金一口につき１本、現地の自然林復元予定地に植え込みます。
* 現地に行きバオバブの苗をご自分で記念植樹することもできますので、その際は本会本部にご連絡ください。旅費その他の経費はご自分の負担となります。
* 現地に設置した記念碑の芳名板に、里親のお名前を刻みます。
* 植えられた苗木の世話は、里親に代わって現地スタッフが行ないます。
* バオバブの現地産種子と「育て方の手引き」をお送りします。記念として残されるのも、播いて苗木をお育てになるのもご自由です。なお、ご自分で育てられたバオバブの苗木を国内で記念植樹ご希望の場合は、本会本部にご相談ください。

里親に期限はあるのですか？

マダガスカルの自然と「バオバブの木」を愛するかぎり、里親として資格に期限はありません。 　バオバブの寿命は数百年から数千年以上と言われ、親の資格はバオバブと共に生き続けます。本会は、少なくとも活動地の森が「自然林保全モデル地区」としてマダガスカル政府の指定を受け、皆様のバオバブの木が末長く育ち続ける環境が整うまで活動を続けます。

Tags: Botanic of the Baobab tree, バオバブ, バオバブは、キワタ科（bombacaceae）Adansonia

If you travel in the remote deserts of Australia, Africa or Madagascar, you may from time to time spot a solitary tree that looks as if it is growing upside-down, with gnarled roots sitting atop a huge, smooth, trunk.

It is well worth taking a closer look at this oddity, which is one of the oldest and strangest living things on our planet. In keeping with its unusual characteristics, it has a weird-sounding name – the baobab, which is probably derived from a native African language.

It is perhaps an exaggeration to say that baobabs are beautiful. Indeed, many people’s first reaction is to giggle at their strange shapes and proportions. With their massive trunks, crooked branches and furry fruit, baobabs have learned how to adapt to a dry and hostile environment – a capacity we may come to envy as the planet starts to heat up.

Though they rarely exceed 20 metres in height, it is not unusual for the circumference of their trunks to be as much or more: it can often take more than ten people with outstretched arms to circle one tree.

They have no branches on the lower part of their smooth, silvery trunks, making them difficult to climb. Instead a spray of twisted boughs sprouts from the top of the trunk, looking like the unkempt hair of a cartoon character.

Baobabs belong to the genus Adansonia and the family Bombacaceae. There are eight different species in the world, of which six can be found in Madagascar. Three of the most common species grow on the west coast of the island: the fony, the grandidieri, and the za. These names are derived from their physical characteristics, which are bottle shaped, flat-topped or upside-down respectively.

The fony is indeed shaped like a bottle with straight sides tapering at the top. The grandieri, which is usually larger than the fony, spreads its branches at an even height. The za, perhaps the most bizarre of all, looks to all intents and purposes like a tree that has grown upside-down with its roots wriggling about in the air.

The secret of the baobab’s success in surviving in harsh environments and the reason for its massive trunk is that it has little wood fibre but a large water storage capacity. Each tree can hold up to 300 litres of water, enabling it to live through long periods without rain. Their life-cycle is as impressive as their bulk – most live over 500 years and some specimens in Africa are believed to be up to 5000 years old.

Since most baobabs grow in isolation and are susceptible to strong winds, they have deep-penetrating roots that allow them to withstand even the wrath of cyclones. They produce leaves for only a short time during the rainy season, when they also develop huge pink or white flowers.

The trees are pollinated by bats and have a fruit as unique as the tree itself. It has a furry coating around a tough, gourd-like shell that shields a soft pulp inside called ‘monkey bread’ and seeds that are rich in citric acid and oil.

The shape of the fruit may be round or oval, giving it the appearance of a leftover decoration on an abandoned Christmas tree. Yet this fruit is so desirable that Madagascan villagers often punch holes in the tree trunk to climb up to them if the tree is too tall for the fruit to be knocked off from the ground.

As with most trees, the baobab is exploited by man. Apart from consuming its nutritious fruit, people use its leaves for medicine and its bark for cloth and rope. While the wood is too soft for building houses or furniture, it can be used to make paper.

The hollowed-out trunks of dead trees have also been used as prisons, toilets and even as tombs. In some parts of Africa, people believe that poets and musicians are possessed by the devil, and that their bodies will pollute the earth if given a normal burial. Thus they are consigned to the bowels of a baobab.
Baobab legends

The importance and uniqueness of baobabs to the communities living in barren areas has guaranteed them a major role in the world of myths and legends. Just outside Morondava, on the west coast of Madagascar, an enormous specimen called ‘the sacred baobab’ is believed to have sprouted on the exact spot where a princess died about 800 years ago. It is now surrounded by dense growth and only its crown is visible above the thicket.

A little further up the coast, two baobabs nicknamed ‘the lovers’ are entwined around each other in an embrace that has lasted over 600 years. However, the most popular place for baobab spotters is ‘Baobab Alley’, twenty bumpy kilometres north of Morondava.

Baobabs are usually solitary beings, standing tall and proud in the midst of empty spaces. Yet in Baobab Alley, they cluster together forming an avenue of towering columns that border the dirt road, their tortured and twisted tops reflected in the lily-covered pond at the roadside.

The best time to visit these gentle giants is at twilight, when their stark silhouettes form a spectacular contrast to the soft, calming colours of sunset. As the colour fades and lens covers are replaced on cameras, a small group of admirers shuffle reverently away, speaking in hushed tones about this mute yet extremely expressive form of life.

by  www.ronemmons.com

Tags: Botanic of the Baobab tree

The African baobab, Adansonia digitata – the classic wide-trunked tree of the African plains, with its unusual « upside down » silhouette when leafless in winter – is the most famous of this genus of eight species in the kapok family (Bombacaceae – which some scientists now consider to be part of the Malvaceae) named after the French surgeon Michel Adanson (1727-1806). It is the only species native to Africa. It is one of the largest trees in the world, although definitely not one of the tallest, with its impressive, broad trunk that can reach over 15m in diameter. Its sheer size makes it quite conspicuous in the savannah or bushveld (dry woodland). Some of the largest trees have been estimated at over 2,000 years old by carbon-dating; circumference is not a reliable predictor of age, as the conditions it has grown under and the climatic fluctuations of the centuries greatly affect girth. Rainfall influences tree diameter, with the trunk becoming narrower in dry years. The baobab’s trunk is fibrous and saturated with water.

The massive swollen trunk consists of soft spongy wood saturated with water.  The fibrous wood cannot be used for building or firewood, but the bark can be shredded into strands to use as fiber for ropes, baskets, nets, cloth and other uses. Many living trees develop hollow trunks with age, which have been used as homes, storage units, a post office, chapels, prisons or tombs. A tree at Katimo Mulilo, Namibia was converted into a flush toilet, while another near Gravelotte in Limpopo Province, South Africa served as a bar for gold miners.

Native to semi-arid regions of sub-Saharan Africa, it grows up to 80 feet tall and up to 40 feet in diameter.in any rocky, well-drained soil. The smooth grey bark has distinct “folds” covering its immense trunk. The alternate leaves are simple on juvenile plants, but are digitately compound with 3-9 leaflets on mature plants. Young leaves are eaten like spinach or dried for later use by some indigenous peoples.

Adansonia digitata trees, the only remaining native vegetation in sisal fields between Kilifi and
Mombassa, Kenya (L); baobab in leaf (R).

Baobabs first flower when they are about 20 years old. Large, white, slightly scented flowers with purplish stamens are produced in midsummer. A. digitata is the only species in the genus with pendulous flowers. The flowers open at sunset and are pollinated by fruit bats as they feed on the sweet nectar. The flowers only bloom for a short time, dropping to the ground within hours of being pollinated.

The flowers are followed by globose fruits with a hard woody shell covered with short yellowish hair. Inside are hard, kidney-shaped seeds in a powdery, creamy white pulp (from which ‘cream of tartar’ is derived). The pith contains high levels of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), tartaric acid and citric acid and is used in producing a refreshing lemonade-like drink that has been used to treat fevers and diarrhea. Many animals including baboons, monkeys, antelope and elephants, will feed on the fallen fruits and help disperse the seeds. The seeds may be ground to make a coffee-substitute or eaten fresh, and are often fed to cattle or goats, especially near the end of the dry season.
The authors with a baobab in northern
Namibia.

Ecologically, baobabs are very important in the savannah, providing food and shelter for a great variety of animals. All kinds of small birds, squirrels, rodents, lizards, snakes and tree frogs, as well as spiders, scorpions and insects live in the canopy. Red-billed buffalo weavers build their communal nests in baobabs more than any other tree. Other birds such as rollers, hornbills, parrots, kestrels and spinetails nest in holes in the trunk, while barn owls and ground hornbills take advantage of larger cavities. Large stick nests of eagles, vultures and storks are often seen on the outer branches. Elephants are one of the biggest threats to the African baobab, especially in areas with high elephant populations. The animals can easily kill small trees as they tear off pieces of stem for the moisture.

This genus of tropical trees is native to Africa, Australia and Madagascar, but baobabs have been widely planted in other tropical and warmer subtropical areas. A. digitata is native to Africa and Madagascar, while the other species except A. gibbosa are all endemic to Madagascar.

- A. gibbosa (gregorii), the Australian baobab, is small and irregularly shaped, and often has multiple trunks. It is restricted to the northwestern area of Australia.
- A. grandidieri, which occurs near Morombe and Morondava in western Madagascar, may be the best known of the Malagasy baobabs. They are very tall trees with a smooth, cylindrical trunk topped with a flat crown of horizontal branches.
- A. madagascariensis is found in dry or moist forest in the Mahajanga province and in the far north. The trunks of these small to large trees (16-65 feet tall) vary in shape from bottle-like to cylindrical.
- A. perrieri is restricted to a small area near Antsiranana (Diego Suarez) in the far north of Madagascar. It is a medium to tall tree (up to 100 feet tall) with an irregular crown and thick branches, often ascending at 45°. The flowers are white to pale yellow.

- A. rubrostipa (fony) is the smallest of the Malagasy baobabs, usually growing only 12-15 feet tall, but sometimes as much as 60 feet. The bottle-shaped trunk has a distinct constriction beneath the branches. Its flowers are bright yellow to orange yellow.
- A. suarezensis is restricted to a very small area near Antsiranana. These endangered trees grow to 80 feet tall, with a single trunk and horizontal branches in the flat-topped crown. This photogenic species has reddish bark that is particularly dramatic at sunrise. White flowers are followed by long, irregularly-shaped fruit.
- A. za is the most common species in Madagascar, growing in the south, west and northwest. The single trunk grows 15-100 feet tall, with a cylindrical or slightly tapering and swelling shape. Yellow flowers are followed by black, oblong fruit.

Although baobabs will not survive outdoors in the Midwest, they are sometimes grown as a curiosity. Many are amenable to being grown as bonsai specimens. All need well-drained soil and good sunlight, so are best grown in a greenhouse rather than as a houseplant and benefit from moving outside to enjoy thunderstorms and warm summer weather. They all have a well-developed taproot even when young which may necessitate a deeper than normal pot. They do not begin to develop their characteristic trunk shape until much older, however, so will never resemble the classic savannah tree shape when container grown, but frequent tip-pruning will encourage thickening of the trunk.

Tags: Botanic of the Baobab tree

Baobab is the common name of a genus (Adansonia) containing eight species of trees, native to Madagascar (having six species), mainland Africa and Australia (one species in each). The mainland African species also occurs on Madagascar, but it is not a native of that country.

Other common names include boab, boaboa, bottle tree, upside-down tree, and monkey bread tree. The species reach heights of 5 to 30 metres (16 to 98 ft) and trunk diameters of 7 to 11 metres (23 to 36 ft). An African Baobab specimen in Limpopo Province, South Africa, often considered the largest example alive, has a circumference of 47 metres (150 ft) and an average diameter of 15 metres (49 ft).

Some baobabs are reputed to be many thousands of years old, which is difficult to verify as the wood does not produce annual growth rings, though radiocarbon dating may be able to provide age data.

The Malagasy species are important components of the Madagascar dry deciduous forests. Within that biome, A. madagascariensis and A. rubrostipa occur specifically in the Anjajavy Forest, sometimes growing out of the tsingy limestone itself.

Beginning in 2008, there has been increasing interest for developing baobab as a nutrient-rich raw material for consumer products.
Species

* Adansonia digitata – African Baobab (western, northeastern, central & southern Africa)
* Adansonia grandidieri – Grandidier’s Baobab (Madagascar)
* Adansonia gregorii (syn. A. gibbosa) – Boab or Australian Baobab (northwest Australia)
* Adansonia madagascariensis – Madagascar Baobab (Madagascar)
* Adansonia perrieri – Perrier’s Baobab (North Madagascar)
* Adansonia rubrostipa (syn. A. fony) – Fony Baobab (Madagascar)
* Adansonia suarezensis – Suarez Baobab (Diego Suarez, Madagascar)
* Adansonia za – Za Baobab (Madagascar)

The name Adansonia honours Michel Adanson, the French naturalist and explorer who described A. digitata.
Water storage

Baobabs store water inside the swollen trunk (up to 120,000 litres (32,000 US gal)) to endure the harsh drought conditions particular to each region. All occur in seasonally arid areas, and are deciduous, shedding their leaves during the dry season.
Uses
The fruit is about 18 cm long

The leaves are commonly used as a leaf vegetable throughout the area of mainland African distribution, including Malawi, Zimbabwe, and the Sahel. They are eaten both fresh and as a dry powder. In Nigeria, the leaves are locally known as kuka, and are used to make kuka soup.

The fruit is nutritious possibly having more vitamin C than oranges and exceeding the calcium content of cow’s milk. Also known as « sour gourd » or « monkey’s bread », the dry fruit pulp separated from seeds and fibers is eaten directly or mixed into porridge or milk. In Malawi, the fruit pulp is used to make a nutrient-rich juice.

The fruit was once used in the production of tartar sauce. In various parts of East Africa, the dry fruit pulp is covered in sugary coating (usually with red coloring) and sold in packages as a sweet and sour candy called « boonya » or « bungha ».

The seeds are mostly used as a thickener for soups, but may also be fermented into a seasoning, roasted for direct consumption, or pounded to extract vegetable oil. The tree also provides a source of fiber, dye, and fuel.

Indigenous Australians used baobabs as a source of water and food, and used leaves medicinally. They also painted and carved the outside of the fruits and wore them as ornaments. A very large, hollow baobab south of Derby, Western Australia was used in the 1890s as a prison for Aboriginal convicts on their way to Derby for sentencing. The Boab Prison Tree still stands and is now a tourist attraction.

The whole fruit of the baobab is not available in the EU as current EU legislations from 1997 dictate that foods not commonly consumed in the EU have to be formally approved before going on sale. On 15 July 2008, the EU approved parts of the fruit for use in smoothies and cereal bars. Traditional uses of the whole fruit are unlikely outside of Africa as the fruit will be processed for export as a white powder with a cheese-like texture to be used as an ingredient in products.

Culture and myths
Adansonia grandidieri, Madagascar
Adansonia digitata, Tarangire National Park in Tanzania
Baobab in Recife. Possible inspiration for Saint Exupéry

* The national tree of Madagascar.[citation needed]
* Used for bonsai (the most popular being A. digitata).
* Known colloquially as « upside-down tree », it is cited in African lore: after creation, each of the animals was given a tree to plant and the hyena planted the baobab upside-down.
* Tabaldi is the name of the Baobab tree in Sudan and its fruit is Gongalis. Baobab’s trunk is used as a tank to store water. People in west Sudan use the hollow in the trunk to save water in the rain season. Gongalis is used to make juice or use to cure stomach and other diseases.
* Bark may have been used hundreds of years ago in Africa as a backscratcher or toothbrush.
* Having a distinctive foul smell, tree parts may have been used by primitive tribes to ward off evil spirits, making the tree known in African folklore as « God’s Thumb. »
* Rafiki, in The Lion King, makes his home in a baobab tree.
* Ernst Haeckel mentions « monkey bread-fruit trees (Adansonia) » in his The History of Creation (Chap. 29), and claims that their « individual life exceeds a period of five thousand years ».
* The owners of Sunland Farm in Limpopo, South Africa have built a pub called « The Big Baobab Pub » inside the hollow trunk of a 22 metres (72 ft) high baobab. The tree, which is 47m (155ft) in circumference, is reported to have been carbon dated at over 6,000 years old.
* Baobabs are cited in the The Little Prince as a tree that may « split » a small planet into pieces.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baobab

Tags: Botanic of the Baobab tree

バオバブ

バオバブ（英名：Baobab、学名：Adansonia）はアオイ目アオイ科（クロンキスト体系や新エングラー体系ではパンヤ科）バオバブ属の総称のこと。

学名はA. digitataを報告した仏人自然学者Michel Adansonの名に由来する。原生種がマダガスカルに6種、オーストラリアとアフリカに1種ずつ存在する。
サバンナ地帯に多く分布する。幹は徳利のような形をしており、高さは約20メートル、直径は約10メートルに及ぶ。最大のものは南アフリカのリンポポにあ る高さ47m、直径15mである。年輪が無いため樹齢を知ることは難しいが、数千年に達すると言われ、放射性年代測定は可能である。中は空洞になることが 多い。葉は幹の上部につき、乾季に落葉する。花は白色で大きい。果実はヘチマのように垂れ下がり、堅い。果肉は食用・調味料とされ、セネガルでは「サルの パン」と呼ばれる。ビタミンCがオレンジより多く、カルシウムも牛乳より多いと言われる。また、若葉を野菜として利用する。樹皮は煎じて解熱剤に用いられ る[1]。

その独特の樹型から、悪魔が大木を引き抜いて、逆さまに突っ込んだといわれている。 サン・テグジュペリの『星の王子さま』では、星を破壊する巨木として描かれている。浜名湖花博において日本では初めて屋外で開花した。

120klもの水分を幹にたくわえており、乾季になると葉を落とし休眠する。休眠中はその水分で生きのびる。 バオバブは観葉植物にもなり、盆栽型に仕立てることもできる。

また、このタネは、オランウータンに一度食べられ排泄された物でないと発芽しないと言われていた。

japan japon 日本

Tags: Baobab pulp Fruit Powder, Botanic of the Baobab tree, Health benefits, バオバブ

Fruits for the Future, the Baobab

What is Baobab? – Adansonia digitata L. is a deciduous, tropical tree which grows in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid tropical climates. It belongs
to the family Bombacaceae. Baobabs are characterised by swollen trunks and branches. The shape of the trunk can be cylindrical, bottle-shaped,
gnarled or tapering. The bark is smooth, silver-grey or pinkish/purple in colour and contains a yellow or green photosynthetic layer inside, which is
composed of a thick layer of tough, longitudinal fibers. Baobab trees have a compact, rounded to open, flattened (spreading) crown and a short
bole. It is a long-lived, fast growing tree (in its juvenile stage) and has an average life span of 1000-3000 years, though it can reach 6000 years! The
fruit is a pod, which is usually globose, ovoid or oblong-cylindrical in shape. It is between 20-54 cm in length and approximately 7.5 cm in diameter. The ripe fruit is filled with a mealy pulp containing numerous seeds, which have both domestic and industrial uses. The tree averages 25 m in height and 6-10 m in diameter. The genus Adansonia contains eight species, six endemic to Madagascar, one to mainland Africa and one to N.W. Australia.

Baobab

Where does Baobab grow? – Baobab is thought to have originated on mainland Africa or Arabia, from where it was carried by seafaring traders to Zanzibar, Madagascar and Mauritius. Trade within the Indian subcontinent led to a degree of species naturalisation in India, Malaysia and Indonesia. Boabab now also occurs as a specimen tree on some Caribbean islands and on the coast of Guyana. Baobab grows widely in tropical climates characterised by a dry winter and a hot wet summer. It
has been reported in areas where the annual rainfall is as low as 90 mm.
The tree is well adapted to arid conditions, preferring sandy soils or well-drained loams. It can also tolerate poorly drained heavily textured soils. The tree will not grow in deep sand, but will grow on acid or alkaline soils. It is drought hardy, fire resistant and prefers areas with a high water table. The root system of a mature tree penetrates
the soil to a depth of approximately 2 m. Both juvenile and mature trees are susceptible to frost. Baobab is not grown commercially in large plantations, but tends to be planted as an isolated tree (landmark) near homestead settlements for its fruits, seeds and other products. It is sometimes planted in small orchards, these tend to small
and products harvested mainly for domestic use.

Why should you grow Baobab? – The Baobab tree is well-known for its fruits, which are rich in vitamins C, B1, B2, calcium, phosphorous,
iron, trace minerals and protein. The leaves are rich in ß carotene, and contain a significant amount of amino acids and several trace elements.
The tree is easy and cheap to cultivate and free from any serious pests and diseases. It is usually left to grow until it dies naturally, as many
traditional beliefs exist which dissuade felling. The tree provides shade, cooling the soil beneath the canopy. Deciduous leaf drop acts as a soil
conditioner by providing a humus-rich top layer, improving water moisture content and protecting the soil against erosion. Baobab has
many uses and although the pulp yield is variable. Baobab is therefore a sustainable resources with positive environmental benefits.

Economics of Baobab – Baobabs have economic potential, though little documentation exists concerning the trade of its products. Production centres in
all countries tend to serve local markets and details of the export of pulp, seed or bark products are rare. Baobab oil is produced from the seed, it is used in
cooking and sold in local markets. The oil is also exported to international markets for use in cosmetics and the dried bark was once exported to Europe for
the manufacture of packing paper. Since 1848, the strong inner fibre from the bark has also been imported into Europe under the name of cortex cael cedra, for use in rope making. Exact production and export figures are not available.

How do you grow Baobab? – The Baobab tree can be grown easily from seed, however given the large intra-specific variability, vegetative propagation is an easy
way to maintain ‘good quality’ characters, reduce the juvenile period and to obtain medium height plants. A number of methods have been used, including stem
cuttings, which give variable results, and grafting which produces more consistent results. Grafting methods have been used in Mali and have produced a success
rate of 100%. Vegetative methods are both relatively cheap and easy. Propagation by seed requires pre-treatment by immersion in boiling water. Germination is
variable and can take from 3 weeks to 6 months. Seeds can retain their viability for a number of years provided they are kept dry. When planted out, young trees require adequate soil moisture to become well established, but mature trees can withstand drought quite well. In general, the fruits abscise late in the rainy season, but may persist on the
tree for several months. Ripe pods, however, can be stored unopened or uncracked for a number of months in humid climates, without refrigeration. The trees will bear pods after 8-23 years.

What are the uses of Baobab? – Baobab is a multipurpose tree and probably best known for its swollen, hollow trunk which is most commonly used for water
storage. The hollow trunk is also reported to be used as a tomb in West Africa for griot* and the leprous. The pods contain the fresh pulp which has a tangy,
sub-acid flavour. It can be mixed with water to produce beverages, used as a substitute for cream of tartar and can also be used to curdle milk. Dried pulp is
processed industrially and marketed by a number of different companies internationally as a powder which can be taken with liquid to enhance nutrition.
The seeds can be eaten fresh, dried or roasted and are sometimes used as a coffee substitute. Oil, which is often used in traditional ceremonies, can be extracted by
distillation and can be purified as a cooking oil for the international market. It has a light, golden colour with a nutty aroma and a long shelf-life. A number of products including bath oil, lotions and creams have been developed for the cosmetics industry, taking advantage of its natural moisturising effects. Oil-cake is also used to feed cattle. Fresh and dried leaves are cooked and eaten as a type of spinach and they can also be used as forage. The timber is light
and spongy, unsuitable for fuel and easily attacked by fungus. However, it is used to make canoes and fishing floats. The wood pulp is suitable for processing into writing paper, for local use. Fibre from the inner bark is particularly strong and durable, and is widely used for making rope, cordage, harness straps, strings for musical instruments, baskets, nets, snares, fishing lines and cloth. All parts of the tree are reputed to have medicinal properties, and oils
and pulp products have been produced and marketed internationally as ‘Natural African’ remedies. The tree can be planted for reduction of soil erosion and to provide a habitat for many native animals, birds and reptiles.

Tags: antioxidant, Baobab bark, Botanic of the Baobab tree, Health benefits

« THE amazing thing about trees is how invisible they are, » says Thomas Pakenham, who has travelled the world writing books about remarkable trees. Mr Pakenham cites a recent example of a baobab forest in the city of Mombasa in Kenya which local tree experts insisted did not exist. « But there it was, a stand of baobabs of enormous size and uncertain age. » Even so, some readers have wondered why we decided to call this blog Baobab, especially with our Asia section having a rival tree in Banyan.

Firstly, because the baobab is Africa’s tree. It is found in 31 African countries and has been introduced in several others. Outside Madagascar (which has several unique varieties of baobab), all are a single species: Adansonia digitata. It is enormous, Falstaffian, life affirming, a wooden elephant that is hard to miss on any African horizon. A specimen in Namibia is 40m in diameter—the fattest tree in the world in one of its driest places.

Then there is the mystery around the baobab. It has no tree rings, so it is not clear how old it is. Some experts a baobab may live for 500 years, others for 5000 years. In any case, the baobab is the living elder on a continent which reveres elders. In Burkina-Faso, villagers give a solemn funeral for a baobab when it dies, playing drums usually reserved for chiefs.

The baobab is a provider. It is home to fruit bats, parakeets, weaver birds and lovebirds, and those hawks and owls of the bush that feed upon the mice that live among the baobab’s roots. The baobab stores water. Its leaves and white flowers serve as salad for humans. Its black seeds are similarly edible and when cooked provide a substitute for coffee. The white pulp of the fruit can be boiled into a sherbet-like lemonade that is high in vitamin C. The husk can be used as a calabash. The tree provides no timber, its wood is soft like balsa, but the bark serves as food for elephants in times of drought and can be made into rope, roofing material, and clothing.

The baobab is the listening tree. It is modest. It rots away almost immediately upon its death, so that the only trace of it are wood shavings and wasp nests. But in the centuries it lives, it is often the meeting place in the village, its branches providing shelter. « The villagers gather and talk about the day’s events and problems and the baobab is the benevolent listener to all these problems, » says Mr Pakenham. « In that sense it is a mother tree. »

In animist communities, the baobab is seen as a deity which has chosen to live among the people. Stoicism and gentle humour are the qualities attributed to it. Even in Christian communities, baobabs serve as places where religious services might be held. The tree is hollow. It is possible to make rooms in the space inside its massive trunk, and so it has suffered the indignity of being used as a toilet, a drinking place and a place of crime or of hiding. The baobab is also the tree in some African creation myths that was given to the hyena, and which the hyena threw away in disgust, so that it became the upside down tree. Yet it endures. It succeeds where nothing else can succeed, on outcrops of pink granite rising out of the desert, in salt flats, and in lands wracked with drought. It continues to flower after being knocked over by a lorry or burned by humans trying to smoke out bees.

For all these reasons, and in contrast with the spindly and epiphytic banyan, the mighty baobab stands for Africa.

Tags: Botanic of the Baobab tree