Baobab Tree

About Baobabs

Baobab is the common name of a genus of trees (Adansonia). There are eight species, six native to Madagascar, and one each to mainland Africa and Australia. It is the national tree of Madagascar.

Other common names include 'boab', 'boaboa', 'bottle tree', 'the tree of life', 'upside-down tree', and 'monkey bread tree'. The trees reach heights of 5 to 30 metres (16 to 98 ft) and trunk diameters of 7 to 11 metres (23 to 36 ft). Its trunk can hold up to 120,000 litres of water. For most of the year, the tree is leafless, and looks very much like it has its roots sticking up in the air.

The African variety, Adonsonia Digitata, is the largest and is found in 20 sub Saharan countries. It thrives in dry climes which have low to moderate seasonal rainfall.

In some parts of Africa entire forests of moderate sized Baobabs sprout from arid plains, but giants like the van Heerden’s tend to be solitary. This is because their peers have long since perished through flood (Baobabs cannot bear being waterlogged), drought, lightning strike or marauding elephants. All four, plus a disease called black fungus, ensure that only the hardiest survive to a ripe old age. As Hugh Glen, a government botanist, once said "the problem with the Baobab is that it doesn't get handsome until it’s about 800 years old".

The Bushmen believed that the Baobab had offended God and, in revenge, God planted the tree upside down. Certainly, when winter comes, the Baobab resembles a mass of roots pointing towards the sky instead of being underground. The Baobab has been associated with many myths, mysteries and folklore. Even the flowers bloom at night. Bushmen believed that any person who plucks the flowers will be torn apart by lions, because there are spirits in the flowers. When water is drunk, in which the Baobab’s pips have been soaked, this serves as protection from crocodiles and the drinker will be mighty.

The Baobab Tree is known as the tree of life, with good reason. It can provide shelter, clothing, food, and water for the animal and human inhabitants of the African Savannah regions. The cork-like bark and huge stem are fire resistant and are used for making cloth and rope. The leaves are used as condiments and medicines. The fruit, called "monkey bread", is edible, and full of Vitamin C. Elephants, monkeys and baboons depend on its fruit (the vitamin C content of one fruit is the equivalent of 4 oranges); bats pollinate them by crashing into the flowers while chasing insects; bush babies also spread the pollen; the pollen can be used as glue; the seeds are rich in protein, calcium, oil and phosphates - they can also be roasted and ground like coffee beans; young leaves have a high calcium content and can be used as spinach; the trunk is fibrous and can be woven into rope mats and paper; beer and tea can be made from the bark, but you need a strong constitution to drink either. 

It was at one time believed that Baobabs were in danger of becoming extinct. This was before botanists realized that the small trees do not resemble the mature trees at all. Fortunately the Baobab is not threatened. But the large trees are not immune to man’s intrusion. A famous tree, the Nomsiang Baobab, named after the farm in which it stood, was close to the highway and thousands of visitors trampled the ground so hard that it became impervious to rainwater and the magnificent tree died. We can rest easier when custodians like the van Heerdens’ guard our trees.