''Adansonia'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
made up of eight
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of medium-to-large
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...
family, subfamily
Bombacoideae
Bombacoideae is a subfamily of the mallow family, Malvaceae. It contains herbaceous and woody plants. Their leaves are alternate, commonly palmately lobed, with small and caducous stipules. The flowers are hermaphroditic and actinomorphic; the c ...
. They are native to
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
, mainland
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
[Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 8 Jul 2020 http://www.tropicos.org ] The trees have also been introduced to other regions such as
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
. The
generic name honours
Michel Adanson
Michel Adanson (7 April 17273 August 1806) was an 18th-century French botanist and naturalist who traveled to Senegal to study flora and fauna. He proposed a "natural system" of taxonomy distinct from the binomial system forwarded by Linnaeus. ...
, the French naturalist and explorer who described ''
Adansonia digitata
''Adansonia digitata'', the African baobab, is the most widespread tree species of the genus ''Adansonia'', the baobabs, and is native to the African continent and the southern Arabian Peninsula (Yemen, Oman). These are long-lived pachycauls; ra ...
''.
The baobab is also known as the "upside down tree", a name that originates from several myths.
They are among the most long-lived of
vascular plant
Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They al ...
s
[Adrian Patrut et al. (2018) The demise of the largest and oldest African baobabs. Nature Plants 4: 423–426. DOI: 10.1038/s41477-018-0170-5] and have large flowers that are reproductive for a maximum of 15 hours.
[Baum, D.A., 1995, A Systematic Revision of Adansonia (Bombacaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 1995, Vol. 82, No. 3 (1995), pp. 440-471] The flowers open around dusk, opening so quickly that movement can be detected by the naked eye, and are faded by the next morning.
The fruits are large, oval to round and berry-like and hold kidney-shaped seeds in a dry, pulpy matrix.
In the early 21st century, baobabs in
southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...
began to die off rapidly from a cause yet to be determined. It is unlikely that disease or pests would be able to kill many trees so rapidly, and some have speculated that the die-off is a result of
dehydration
In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake, usually due to exercise, disease, or high environmental temperature. Mil ...
.
Description
General
![Baobab tree with fruits at Mikumi National Park](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Baobab_tree_with_fruits_at_Mikumi_National_Park.jpg)
Baobabs are long-lived deciduous, small to large trees from 5 to 30 m tall
with broad trunks and compact crowns. Young trees usually have slender, tapering trunks, often with a swollen base. Mature trees have massive trunks that are bottle-shaped or cylindrical and tapered from bottom to top.
The trunk is made of fibrous wood arranged in concentric rings, although rings are not always formed annually and so cannot be used to determine the age of individual trees. Tree diameter fluctuates with rainfall so it is thought that water may be stored in the trunk.
Baobab trees have two types of shoots—long, green vegetative ones, and stout, woody reproductive ones. Branches can be massive and spread out horizontal from the trunk or are ascending. ''Adansonia rubrostipa'' is the only baobab that sometimes has spines.
''Adansonia gregorii'' is generally the smallest of the baobabs, rarely getting to over tall and often with multiple trunks.
Both ''A. rubrostipa'' and ''A. madagascariensis'' are small to large trees, from tall.
The other baobabs grow from tall, with diameter trunks. ''A. digitata'', however, often has massive single or multiple trunks of up to diameter.
Leaves
Leaves are
palmate
The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...
ly compound in mature trees, but seedlings and regenerating shoots may have simple leaves. The transition to compound leaves comes with age and may be gradual. Leaves have 5-11 leaflets, with the largest ones in the middle and may be stalkless or with short
petioles. Leaflets may have toothed or smooth edges, and may be hairless or have simple-to-clumped hairs. Baobabs have
stipules
In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...
at the base of the leaves, but the stipules are soon shed in most species. Baobabs are deciduous, shedding leaves during the dry season.
Flowers
![Adansonia digitata MS 6682-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Adansonia_digitata_MS_6682-2.JPG)
In most ''Adansonia'' species, the flowers are born on short erect or spreading stalks in the axils of the leaves near the tips of reproductive shoots. Only ''A. digitata'' has flowers and fruits set on long, hanging stalks. There is usually only a single flower in an axil, but sometimes flowers occur in pairs. They are large, showy and strongly scented. They only open near dusk. Opening is rapid and movement of the flower parts is fast enough to be visible. Most ''Adansonia'' species are pollinated by bats. Flowers may remain attached to the trees for several days, but the reproductive phase is very short, with pollen shed during the first night and stigmas shriveled by the morning. The flower is made up of an outer 5-lobed calyx, and an inner ring of petals set around a fused tube of stamens.
The outer lobes of the calyx are usually green (brown in ''A. grandidieri'') and in bud are joined almost to the tip. As the flower opens, the calyx lobes split apart and become coiled or bent back (reflexed) at the base of the flower. The inner surface of the lobes are silky-hairy and cream, pink, or red.
Sometimes the lobes do not separate cleanly, distorting the shape of the flower as they bend back. The calyx lobes remain fused at the base, leaving a feature (calyx tube) that has nectar-producing tissue and that is cup-shaped, flat or tubular; the form of the calyx tube varies with species.
The flowers have a central tube (staminal tube) made up of fused stalks of stamens (filaments), with unfused filaments above. A densely hairy ovary is enclosed in the staminal tube, and a long style tipped with a stigma emerges from the filaments. Petals are set near the base of the staminal tube and are variable in shape and colour. The flowers, when fresh, may be white, cream, bright yellow or dark red, but fade quickly, often turning reddish when dried.
Fruit
The fruit of the baobabs is one of their distinguishing features. It is large, oval-to-round, and berry-like in most species (usually less than long in ''A. madagascariensis''.
). It has a dry, hard outer shell of variable thickness. In most species, the shell is indehiscent (does not break open easily). ''A. gibbosa'' is the only species with fruits that crack while still on the tree, which then tend to break open upon landing on the ground. Inside the outer shell, kidney-shaped seeds 10-15(-20) mm long are set in a dry pulp.
Taxonomy
The earliest written reports of baobab are from a 14th-century travelogue by the Arab traveler Ibn Batuta.
The first botanical description was by Alpino (1592), looking at fruits that he observed in Egypt from an unknown source. They were called ''Bahobab'', possibly from the Arabic "bu hibab", meaning "many-seeded fruit".
The French explorer and botanist
Michel Adanson
Michel Adanson (7 April 17273 August 1806) was an 18th-century French botanist and naturalist who traveled to Senegal to study flora and fauna. He proposed a "natural system" of taxonomy distinct from the binomial system forwarded by Linnaeus. ...
(1727–1806) observed a baobab tree in 1749 on the island of Sor in Senegal, and wrote the first detailed botanical description of the full tree, accompanied with illustrations. Recognizing the connection to the fruit described by Alpino he called the genus Baobab.
Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
later renamed the genus ''Adansonia'', to honour Adason, but use of baobab as one of the common names has persisted.
The
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''Adansonia'' is in the subfamily
Bombacoideae
Bombacoideae is a subfamily of the mallow family, Malvaceae. It contains herbaceous and woody plants. Their leaves are alternate, commonly palmately lobed, with small and caducous stipules. The flowers are hermaphroditic and actinomorphic; the c ...
, within the family
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...
in the order
Malvales
The Malvales are an order of flowering plants. As circumscribed by APG II-system, the order includes about 6000 species within 9 families. The order is placed in the eurosids II, which are part of the eudicots.
The plants are mostly shrubs and ...
. The subfamily Bombacoideae was previously treated as the
Bombacaceae
Bombacaceae were long recognised as a family of flowering plants or Angiospermae. The family name was based on the type genus ''Bombax''. As is true for many botanical names, circumscription and status of the taxon has varied with taxonomic point ...
family but it is no longer recognized at the rank of family by the
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group
The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) is an informal international group of systematic botanists who collaborate to establish a consensus on the taxonomy of flowering plants (angiosperms) that reflects new knowledge about plant relationships disco ...
I 1998, II 2003 or the
Kubitzki system The Kubitzki system is a system of plant taxonomy devised by Klaus Kubitzki, and is the product of an ongoing survey of vascular plants, entitled ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'', and extending to 15 volumes in 2018. The survey, in th ...
2003. There are eight accepted
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of ''Adansonia''. A new species (''Adansonia kilima'' Pettigrew, et al.), was described in 2012, found in high-elevation sites in eastern and southern Africa.
This, however, is no longer recognized as a distinct species
[Cron, Glynis & Karimi, Nisa & Glennon, Kelsey & Udeh, Chukwudi & Witkowski, E & Venter, Sarah & Assogbadio, A & Baum, David. (2016). "One African baobab species or two? A re-evaluation of Adansonia kilima". ''South African Journal of Botany''. 103. 312. 10.1016/j.sajb.2016.02.036.] but considered a synonym of ''A. digitata''. Some high-elevation trees in Tanzania show different genetics and morphology, but further study is needed to determine if recognition of them as a separate species is warranted.
The genus ''Adansonia'' is further divided into three sections. Section Adansonia includes only ''A. digitata''. This species has hanging flowers and fruit, set on long flowering stalks. This is the
type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...
for the genus ''Adansonia''.
All species of ''Adansonia'' except ''A. digitata'' are
diploid
Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...
; ''A. digitata'' is
tetraploid
Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...
.
Section Brevitubae includes ''A. grandidieri'' and ''A. suarexensis''. These are species with flower buds that set on short pedicles and that are approximately twice as long as wide. The other species are all classified within the section Longitubae. They also have flowers/fruits set on short pedicels, but the flower buds are five or more times as long as wide.
Species
![Kuka Mai Lumba - The Baoab with the Sign on It - Baobob Tree 1983](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Kuka_Mai_Lumba_-_The_Baoab_with_the_Sign_on_It_-_Baobob_Tree_1983.jpg)
, there are eight recognized species of Adansonia, with six
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
, one native to mainland Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and one native to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. The mainland African species (''Adansonia digitata'') also occurs on Madagascar, but it is not a native of that island. Baobabs were introduced in ancient times to south Asia and during the colonial era to the Caribbean. They are also present in the island nation of
Cape Verde
, national_anthem = ()
, official_languages = Portuguese
, national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole
, capital = Praia
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, demonym ...
.
A ninth species was described in 2012 (''
Adansonia kilima''
Pettigrew, et al.)
but is no longer recognized as a distinct species.
The African and Australian baobabs are similar in appearance, and the oldest splits within ''Adansonia'' are likely no older than 15 million years; thus, the Australian species represents a long-distance trans-
oceanic dispersal
Oceanic dispersal is a type of biological dispersal that occurs when terrestrial organisms transfer from one land mass to another by way of a sea crossing. Island hopping is the crossing of an ocean by a series of shorter journeys between island ...
event from Africa. The lineage leading to ''Adansonia'' was found to have diverged from its closest relatives in
Bombacoideae
Bombacoideae is a subfamily of the mallow family, Malvaceae. It contains herbaceous and woody plants. Their leaves are alternate, commonly palmately lobed, with small and caducous stipules. The flowers are hermaphroditic and actinomorphic; the c ...
like ''
Ceiba
''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to N Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall or more, with a straight, la ...
'' /''
Chorisia
''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to N Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall or more, with a straight, ...
'' at the end of the Eocene, during a time of abrupt global climate cooling and drying, while a divergence of this ''Adansonia''+''
Ceiba
''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to N Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall or more, with a straight, la ...
'' /''
Chorisia
''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to N Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall or more, with a straight, ...
'' clade from ''
Pachira
''Pachira'' is a genus of tropical trees distributed in Central and South America, Africa and India. They are classified in the subfamily Bombacoideae of the family Malvaceae. Previously the genus was assigned to Bombacaceae.
Prior to that the g ...
'' was found to be more ancient, dating to the middle Eocene.
Habitat
The Malagasy species are important components of the
Madagascar dry deciduous forests
The Madagascar dry deciduous forests represent a tropical dry forest ecoregion situated in the western and northern part of Madagascar. The area has high numbers of endemic plant and animal species but has suffered large-scale clearance for agric ...
. Within that
biome
A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...
, ''Adansonia madagascariensis'' and ''A. rubrostipa'' occur specifically in the
Anjajavy Forest The Anjajavy's Protected Area is located on a peninsula of the town of Antonibe, in the district of Analalava and in the north-west region of Madagascar. It is part of the Sofia region of the independent province of Mahajanga and its position is be ...
, sometimes growing out of the
tsingy
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
itself. ''A. digitata'' has been called "a defining icon of African bushland".
The tree also grows wild in
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
in the regions of
Darfur
Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...
and the state of
Kordofan
Kordofan ( ar, كردفان ') is a former province of central Sudan. In 1994 it was divided into three new federal states: North Kordofan, South Kordofan and West Kordofan. In August 2005, West Kordofan State was abolished and its territory di ...
. The locals call it "Gongolaze" and use its fruits as food and medicine and use the tree trunks as reservoirs to save water.
Ecology
Baobabs store
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
in the trunk (up to ) to endure harsh drought conditions. All occur in seasonally
arid
A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ar ...
areas, and are
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
, shedding their
leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
during the dry season. Across Africa, the oldest and largest baobabs began to die in the early 21st century, likely from a combination of
drought
A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
and rising temperatures.
The trees appear to become
parched
''Parched'' is a 2015 Indian drama film written and directed by Leena Yadav and produced by Ajay Devgan under his banner Ajay Devgn FFilms. It premiered at the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. In In ...
, then become
dehydrated
In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake, usually due to exercise, disease, or high environmental temperature. Mil ...
and unable to support their massive trunks.
Baobabs are important as nest sites for birds, in particular the
mottled spinetail
The mottled spinetail (''Telacanthura ussheri'') is a species of swift in the family Apodidae.
It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, E ...
and four species of
weaver.
Notable trees
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.
The method was dev ...
has provided data on a few individuals of ''A. digitata''. The Panke baobab in
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
was some 2,450 years old when it died in 2011, making it the oldest
angiosperm
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
ever documented, and two other trees—
''Dorslandboom'' in
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
and
''Glencoe'' in South Africa—were estimated to be approximately 2,000 years old.
Another specimen known as ''Grootboom'' was dated and found to be at least 1,275 years old.
[Patrut, A., et al. (2010)]
Fire history of a giant African baobab evinced by radiocarbon dating.
''Radiocarbon'' 52(2), 717–26. The
Glencoe baobab
Glencoe Baobab is the stoutest and second largest baobab (''Adansonia digitata'' L.) in South Africa, and possibly the stoutest tree in the world. The Champion Tree is located in Glencoe Farm, near Hoedspruit, Limpopo and had a trunk diameter o ...
, a specimen of ''A. digitata'' in
Limpopo Province
Limpopo is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while th ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, was considered to be the largest living individual, with a maximum
circumference
In geometry, the circumference (from Latin ''circumferens'', meaning "carrying around") is the perimeter of a circle or ellipse. That is, the circumference would be the arc length of the circle, as if it were opened up and straightened out to ...
of and a diameter of about . The tree has since split into two parts, so the widest individual trunk may now be that of the
Sunland baobab, or Platland tree, also in South Africa. The diameter of this tree at ground level is and its circumference at breast height is .
Two large baobabs growing in
Tsimanampetsotse National Park
Tsimanampetsotsa National Park also spelt Tsimanampetsotse, and known as Tsimanampetsotsa Nature Reserve is a 432 km2 national park on the south-west coast of Madagascar in the region Atsimo-Andrefana. The park is south of Toliara and south ...
were also studied using radiocarbon dating.
One called ''Grandmother'' is made up of three fused trunks of different ages, with the oldest part of the tree an estimated 1,600 years old. The second, "polygamous baobab", has six fused stems, and is an estimated 1,000 years old.
[
]
Food uses
Leaves
The tree's leaves may be eaten as a leaf vegetable
Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, pot herbs, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad gre ...
.
Fruit
* The white pith in the fruit of the Australian baobab (''A. gregorii'') tastes like sherbet. It has an acidic, tart, citrus flavor. It is a good source of vitamin C
Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) an ...
, potassium, carbohydrates, and phosphorus.
* The dried fruit powder of ''A. digitata'', baobab powder, contains about 11% water, 80% carbohydrate
In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or ma ...
s (50% fiber), and modest levels of various nutrients, including riboflavin
Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is a vitamin found in food and sold as a dietary supplement. It is essential to the formation of two major coenzymes, flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide. These coenzymes are involved in ...
, calcium
Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...
, magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...
, potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...
, iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
, and phytosterol
Phytosterols are phytosteroids, similar to cholesterol, that serve as structural components of biological membranes of plants. They encompass plant sterols and stanols. More than 250 sterols and related compounds have been identified. Free phyto ...
s, with low levels of protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
and fat
In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food.
The term often refers spec ...
s. Vitamin C content, described as variable in different samples, was in a range of per of dried powder. In 2008, baobab dried fruit pulp was authorized in the EU as a ''safe food ingredient'', and later in the year was granted GRAS (''generally recognized as safe'') status in the United States.
* In Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
, the dry fruit of ''A. digitata'' is usually boiled, and the broth is used for juices or as the base for a type of ice cream
Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...
known as ''gelado de múcua''.
* In Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
, the fruit of ''A. digitata'' is eaten fresh or the crushed crumbly pulp is stirred into porridge
Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...
and drinks.
* In Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
, the dry pulp of ''A. digitata'' is added to sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...
to aid fermentation
Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...
in brewing
Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...
(beermaking).
Seed
* The seeds of some species are a source of vegetable oil
Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or fat ...
.
* The fruit pulp and seeds of ''A. grandidieri''[Ambrose-Oji, B., and Mughogho, N. 2007]
''Adansonia grandidieri'' Baill.
In: van der Vossen, H.A.M., and Mkamilo, G.S. (eds). PROTA 14: Vegetable oils/''Oléagineux''. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. and ''A. za'' are eaten fresh.[Ambrose-Oji, B., and Mughogho, N. 2007]
In: van der Vossen, H.A.M., and Mkamilo, G.S. (eds). PROTA 14: Vegetable oils/''Oléagineux''. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands.
Other uses
Some baobab species are sources of fiber
Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...
, dye
A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...
, and fuel
A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...
. Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
used the native species ''A. gregorii'' for several products, making string from the root fibers and decorative crafts from the fruits. Baobab oil from the seed is also used in cosmetics
Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...
, particularly in moisturizer
A moisturizer, or emollient, is a cosmetic preparation used for protecting, moisturizing, and lubricating the skin. These functions are normally performed by sebum produced by healthy skin. The word "emollient" is derived from the Latin verb ''m ...
s.
Gallery
File:Adansonia digitata Baobab.JPG, ''Adansonia digitata
''Adansonia digitata'', the African baobab, is the most widespread tree species of the genus ''Adansonia'', the baobabs, and is native to the African continent and the southern Arabian Peninsula (Yemen, Oman). These are long-lived pachycauls; ra ...
''
File:Derby boab, Western Australia.jpg, ''Adansonia gregorii
''Adansonia gregorii'', commonly known as the boab and also known by a number of other names, is a tree in the family Malvaceae, endemic to the northern regions of Western Australia and the Northern Territory of Australia.
Names
The specific ...
''
File:Rubostipaanjajavycmichaelhogan.jpg, '' Adansonia rubrostipa''
File:Adansonia suarezensis.jpg, '' Adansonia suarezensis''
File:Starr 080305-3303 Adansonia digitata.jpg, ''Adansonia digitata
''Adansonia digitata'', the African baobab, is the most widespread tree species of the genus ''Adansonia'', the baobabs, and is native to the African continent and the southern Arabian Peninsula (Yemen, Oman). These are long-lived pachycauls; ra ...
'' leaf
File:Adansonia digitata (1).jpg, ''Adansonia digitata
''Adansonia digitata'', the African baobab, is the most widespread tree species of the genus ''Adansonia'', the baobabs, and is native to the African continent and the southern Arabian Peninsula (Yemen, Oman). These are long-lived pachycauls; ra ...
'' flower
File:Pollen of Adansonia or Baobab tree.jpg, ''Adansonia'' Pollen
File:Starr 070727-7661 Adansonia digitata.jpg, ''Adansonia digitata
''Adansonia digitata'', the African baobab, is the most widespread tree species of the genus ''Adansonia'', the baobabs, and is native to the African continent and the southern Arabian Peninsula (Yemen, Oman). These are long-lived pachycauls; ra ...
'' hanging fruit
File:Interno del frutto del baobad Adansonia rubrostipa.JPG, '' Adansonia rubrostipa'', inside of fruit
File:Baobab - seeds from one fruit, Adansonia digitata.jpg, ''Adansonia digitata
''Adansonia digitata'', the African baobab, is the most widespread tree species of the genus ''Adansonia'', the baobabs, and is native to the African continent and the southern Arabian Peninsula (Yemen, Oman). These are long-lived pachycauls; ra ...
'' seeds from the fruit
File:Baobab - fruit pulp elements detail - Adansonia digitata.jpg, Elements of the fruit pulp of ''Adansonia digitata
''Adansonia digitata'', the African baobab, is the most widespread tree species of the genus ''Adansonia'', the baobabs, and is native to the African continent and the southern Arabian Peninsula (Yemen, Oman). These are long-lived pachycauls; ra ...
'' (clockwise from top right): whole fruit pulp chunks, fibers, seeds, powder from the pulp
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Malvaceae genera
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Fruits originating in Africa
Fruits originating in Australia