49 Baobab Tree Facts To Learn All About This Unique Tree

Adansonia is a genus comprising eight species of baobabs, which are medium to big deciduous trees.

They were previously classified as Bombacaceae, but are now classed as Malvaceae. Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia are the native habitats of the baobab. The baobab has also been introduced all across the world, including Asia.

The massive baobab, often known as the 'tree of life,' can survive for up to 3,000 years, which makes it unique. The baobab tree is known by many names such as the 'upside-down tree' or 'monkey-bread tree' or 'bottle tree'.

It is also sometimes known as a 'dead-rat tree' due to the shape of its fruit, making it one of the world's most unusual plants, with strong, huge, branchless trunks that can resemble pillars.

The baobab tree has enormous blossoms that can remain reproductive for up to 15 hours, making them one of the most long-lived vascular plants. The kidney-shaped baobab seeds are held in a dry, pulpy matrix by the fruits, which are big, oval to round, and berry-like.

The baobab tree in the southern parts of the African continent began to drastically decline in the early 21st century due to an unknown cause. Scientists believe that disease or pests could not have killed so many trees so quickly, and some hypothesized that the deaths were caused by dehydration.

On baobab, a harmful mold known as black fungus is becoming more common.

Baobab Tree Classification

There are eight species of baobabs found in Madagascar, Africa, Australia, and the Arabian Peninsula out of which six grow in Madagascar, one in Australia, and one in Africa and Arabia.

• The Sagole baobab, located in the small community of Tshipise in the Limpopo Province, South Africa, is reported to be the world's largest Adansonia digitata baobab. It stands 72 ft (22 m) tall with a 125 ft (38 m) crown diameter.
• The Montane African baobab is found in Southern Africa and Eastern Africa. The tree is rounded and bulbous in shape.
• Other well-known South African baobab trees include the Glencoe and Sunland trees, both of which have already fallen over. Thanks to radiocarbon dating, the Glencoe baobab, formerly thought to be the world's stoutest tree, was determined to be over 1,835 years old.
• The most famous baobabs in Madagascar are those that grow along the avenue of the baobabs, a dirt road between Morondava and Belon'i Tsiribihina. Around 25 indigenous Adansonia grandidieri baobabs may be seen in the grove, some of which are over 100 ft (30.5 m) tall.
• The solitary Australian baobab species, A. gregorii, is also known as boab or bottle tree and is found in Western Australia's Kimberley region.
• The tree, which may grow up to 39 ft (12 m) tall, has the genus' signature bulging trunk and compound leaves that are shed during drought seasons.
• The tree may not be as tall as North American coast redwoods, but its massive size makes them a viable contender for the title of the world's tallest tree. Adansonia digitata can grow to be 82 ft (25 m) tall with a trunk diameter of 46 ft (14 m).
• They have been introduced internationally, and may currently be found in India, China, and Oman. Baobab trees have been widely known to live for over 1,500 years.
• They can be found throughout Africa, albeit their range is limited due to their preference for drier, less tropical climates.

What are the physical features of the baobab tree?

The baobab is a life-giver for wildlife species of Africa, establishing its ecosystem in the process. From the tiny insect to the huge African elephant, the baobab tree supplies food and shelter for a diverse range of creatures.

• The African bush's great giants are baobab trees. With Medusa-like branches sprouting chaotically atop a bulbous body, their striking shapes tower over the acacia scrubland.
• This tree of life is sometimes referred to as an upside-down tree because its twisted branches resemble roots.
• Also known as a dead rat tree, baobabs are small to big deciduous trees with broad trunks and compact crowns that thrive for hundreds of years. The trunks of young trees are usually slender and tapered, with a swelling base.
• Fibrous wood rings are arranged in spirals around the trunk. Because tree diameter varies with rainfall, water may be held in the trunk. Long, green vegetative branches and sturdy, woody reproductive shoots are found on a baobab tree.
• In a mature tree, leaves are palmately compound, although seedlings and regenerated shoots may have simple leaves. The change to compound leaves is gradual and occurs with maturity.
• Flowers can be found around the tips of generative branches in the axils of the leaves. In most axils, there is only one flower. Flower blossoming is usually seen in pairs or sometimes group blossoming is found.
• Petals are shaped and colored differently and are found near the base of the staminal tube. The flowers are white, cream, bright yellow, or dark red while they are new, but they fade quickly and often become crimson when dried.
• Some baobab bloom at the age of 10, while others do not flower for the first 20 years of their lives. Every year, a robust blossoming baobab blooms.
• Bats and nocturnal insects such as moths fertilize flowers when they emerge in the evening.
• The fruit looks like a velvet-covered, rectangular gourd with large black seeds surrounded with tart, slightly powdery pulp.
• The baobab tree, according to African tribes, previously grew upright. The gods decided to teach them a lesson because they thought they were superior to other trees. To teach it humility, the gods removed the tree and planted it upside down to deter it from boasting.
• The hollow trunk of the Sunland baobab tree was large enough to house a wine cellar and bar.
• The soft, fibrous, and fire-resistant bark and flesh can be utilized to weave rope and textiles. Baobab goods include soap, rubber, and glue, as well as the bark and leaves, which are used for traditional medicine.
• Young leaves can be cooked and eaten instead of spinach, and the fruit pulp is frequently soaked before being combined into a drink.

Adaptations Of The Baobab Tree

Because it has adapted to the dry savanna ecosystem, the baobab tree only develops leaves during the wet season. When leaves expand, they produce small fingers, which help to reduce water loss.

• The tree has a long enough tap root system to reach moisture or even water, and its thick bark protects it from bushfires.
• The baobab tree is renowned as the 'tree of life' because of its numerous beneficial characteristics. It behaves like a big succulent, with water making up 80% of its trunk.
• The San bushmen relied on these trees as a key supply of water when the rains failed and the rivers dried up. A single baobab tree may store water in its trunks up to 120,000 l (32,000 US gal) to withstand droughts.
• It contains a large amount of water, but we cannot drink from it directly.
• Because of its special adaption, the baobab tree can reflect light and heat, keeping it cool in the blazing savanna sun. Monkeys, elephants, and other tiny herbivores can't climb it or eat its sensitive leaves and blossoms because of its slippery skin.
• The white flowers of the baobab emit a foul odor resembling rotting meat. This one-of-a-kind adaptation aids the baobab's reproduction by attracting its primary pollinator, the fruit bat.

Fruit Details Of The Baobab Tree

In most species, the fruit is big, oval to spherical, and berry-like. It has a variable-thickness dry, rigid outer shell. The tree is known as the monkey-bread tree, and native Africans have long known about the health benefits of eating its leaves and fruits.

• The dried fruit of Adansonia digitata is frequently boiled in Angola.
• Because of its high quantities of calcium, iron, potassium, and vitamin C, the Western world has recently praised the baobab fruit as the ultimate superfruit with numerous health benefits.
• According to some sources, the pulp of the baobab fruit has about 10 times the amount of vitamin C as a serving of fresh oranges.
• It has 50% more calcium than spinach and is beneficial to skin elasticity, weight loss, and cardiovascular health.
• Its seeds are used to thicken soups, fermented to add flavor, and roasted to enjoy as snacks.
• Baobab powder is gaining popularity as a 'superfood' due to its high nutrient density, which includes antioxidants, potassium, and vitamin C.
• Some farmers are deterred by the fact that fruiting trees can take up to 15-20 years to bear fruit, but new research shows that by grafting the branches of fruiting trees on seedlings, they can bear fruit in as little as five years.

Conservation Of Baobab Tree

Even though Adansonia digitata is rather plentiful, several other baobabs have become endangered. Six of the eight species are located in Madagascar, and all have been designated as red-listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to habitat degradation caused by widespread agriculture.

• Drought and rising temperatures caused the oldest baobab trees in Africa to die in the early twenty-first century.
• The trees appear to get parched, then dehydrated, and their massive trunks become unable to sustain them.
• When the body collapses, it rots inside and suddenly disappears. Baobabs grow in our rainforest ecosystem.
• Frequent fires, which are caused by changing agriculture and the manufacturing of charcoal, can damage both adult trees and saplings, as well as the forest understory (which is the only shade in this extreme environment).
• Grazing also has an impact on the understory and saplings, resulting in fewer mature baobabs. Adult baobabs are also occasionally fallen by individuals who want to use their bark to create rope (and other materials) or clear areas for roadways.
• The natural reproduction of the baobab tree may be jeopardized by diminishing habitat conditions and excessive fruit harvesting. For the species to adapt and live in a changing climate, this problem must be resolved.
• To protect the baobab in its natural environment, the primary strategy should be to assist local people in obtaining co-management rights over forests with significant baobab populations and then to assist communities in putting this management into place.
• Baobab is harvested and purchased directly from the farmer, allowing them to earn a higher wage and send their children to school. We want to use the harvest of this super-fruit from rural harvesters to help Malawians construct a sustainable future.
• Additionally, some funds are donated to our partners at PhytoTrade Africa, who assist rural harvesters and producers throughout Southern Africa.
• In 2008, PhytoTrade Africa, Southern Africa's natural products trade group, was successful in obtaining EU Novel Foods certification for baobab powder, which aims to alleviate poverty and maintain biodiversity in the region by building a market for indigenous plants.
• It has since been used in a variety of goods, ranging from snack bars to smoothies, and has a distinct, mildly sweet flavor.