Adansonia digitata L.

Bombacaceae

Common name(s):

Baobab, Monkey bread tree, Lalu, Indian cork tree

Description:

A large tree, sometimes reaching 25 m in height. Bloated trunk, shaped like a huge bottle, up to 3 m in diameter and often hollow. Fairly thin canopy, with short thick and tortuous branches. The tree is deprived of leaves for about six months during the dry season and then takes on a gaunt skeletal appearance. The bark is smooth, glossy grey with sometimes a bluish or reddish reflection. The external layer is soft and spongy; the internal layer is very fibrous, with red and white discolouration.  When wounded, it produces an insoluble gum which has no commercial value.  The tree is anchored by a few large strong roots. To dispose of it, these roots much be severed one by one before the tree is pulled down. It is then difficult to dispose of the mass of wood, which does not burn easily and rots only slowly. In practice, the tree has to be sawn into pieces for removal. The leaves are digitate and arranged alternately. They appear after flowering and fall a little after the end of the rainy season. They are divided into 6-7 obovate, acuminate, sessile leaflets, about 14 cm long and 5 cm wide. The leaflets are entire or denticulate, often with a sinuous margin, pubescent or glabrescent on the underside and of a dark-green colour on the upper side. The large flowers, 20 cm in diameter, hang from stalks, up to 25 cm long. Each bears five thick, though, tomentose sepals and five large white stamens with incurved filaments and pale orange to brown anthers. Unlike the Kapok tree and Ceiba, which are members of the same family, the stamens of Adansonia are epipetalous. A long thick twisted style, terminated in a flattened lobate stigma, protrudes from the corolla tube. The flower has a sweet fragrance when in full bloom, which seems to attract insects. Pollination is chelropterophilous and anemophilous. The adroeceum and corolla later drop from the young fruit. The fruit, called monkey bread (and in Arabic “gangoleis”), is a voluminous capsule of an ovoid or ellipsoid shape, reaching 35 cm in length and 17 cm in diameter. Within the hard, velvet-surfaced green to yellowish wrapper, one finds numerous black seeds, like small horse-beans, wrapped in a white to yellowish farinaceous, acid-tasting pulp. This pulp is pleasant to eat when fresh and extremely rich in Vitamin C. When the fruit is dry, the envelope becomes brittle and the pulp takes on a chalky consistency.  The first fruits appear when the tree reaches the age of 8-10 years, but they are not abundant before the tree reaches the age of 30. The baobab produces its leaves during the rainy season after flowering. In the Sahelo-Saharan zone, flowers usually appear in March-April, probably a little later in the Sudan-Sahelian zone. There are, however, large differences between individuals. The tree is not much affected by bush fires, but it is subject to damage by elephants who like to rub themselves against the trunk. Incidentally, the baobab harbours several pests of the cotton plant.

Distribution:

The species is common in all the dry regions of Africa from sea-level to 1 500 m elevation, and tolerates a range of rainfall from 250 to 1 100 mm. It is found exceptionally in the savannah-woodlands of the Guinean zone. It also exists in the coastal savannah of Ghana, Togo and Benin.  It is possible that its original area of distribution might have been a coastal one. Perhaps the baobab is a species of the old Australian flora which could have been introduced into Africa by man through maritime communications.

Propagation:

Seed dissemination is efficiently carried out by men and animals that eat the fruits, the seeds of which are found in the faeces. The tree is found in various soil types.

Products and uses:

Fibre from the bark is used for making ropes and rigging, and also for cords and musical instruments. The green leaves are widely used in cooking.  The fruit pulp is eaten by man, monkeys, elephants and other animals.  Leaves have also been used as emollients; the properties used to help extract Guinea-worm. In Senegal the dried and ground leaves are used for seasoning couscous. The oil-containing seeds are sometimes grilled and eaten. In the Sudan, the trunk of very large trees are hollowed for using as a food store or water-tank (it can hold up to 5 000 litres).

Main References:

Baumer, M. 1983. Notes on Trees and Shrubs in Arid and Semi-arid Regions. FAO/UNEP programme “Ecological Management of Arid and Semi-Arid Rangelands in Africa, Near and Middle East” (EMASAR Phase II). 270p.