Adansonia - Baobab

Baobab is the common name of a genus (Adansonia) containing eight species of trees, native to Madagascar (the centre of diversity, with 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 and monkey bread tree.

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.

USES
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 extremely nutritious and is known as sour gourd or monkey's bread. The dry pulp of the fruit, after separation from the seeds and fibers, is eaten directly or mixed into porridge or milk. In Malawi, the fruit pulp is used to make juice which is very rich in nutrients such as calcium and vitamin C. The shells are burned for heat. 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".

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 boab south of Derby, Western Australia was used in the 1890s as a lockup for Aboriginal prisoners on their way to Derby for sentencing. The Boab Prison Tree still stands and is now a tourist attraction.


Facts
The baobab is the national tree of Madagascar.
Rafiki, in The Lion King, makes his home in a baobab tree.
In the movie FernGully: The Last Rainforest, the evil spirit Hexxus is released when the baobab tree he is imprisoned in is cut down.
Baobabs are also used for bonsai.


Species
Adansonia za is a species of flowering plant in the genus Adansonia. It is endemic to Madagascar, where it is threatened by habitat loss.

Adansonia digitata, the baobab, is the most widespread of the Adansonia species on the African continent, found in the hot, dry regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Other members of the genus are found in Australia and Madagascar. Some large individuals live to well over a thousand years of age. The tree bears large, heavy white flowers. The fruits are filled with pulp that dries, hardens, and falls to pieces which look like chunks of powdery, dry bread.

Adansonia grandidieri (Grandidier's Baobab), the grandest and most famous of Madagascar’s six baobabs, is an endangered species in the genus Adansonia. It is endemic to Madagascar. A.grandidieri is named to commemorate the French botanist and explorer, Alfred Grandidier.

Adansonia gregorii, commonly known as boab, is a tree in the family Malvaceae. As with other baobabs, it is easily recognised by the swollen base of its trunk, which gives the tree a bottle-like appearance. Endemic to Australia, boab occurs in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, and east into the Northern Territory. It is the only baobab to occur in Australia, the others being native to Madagascar (six species) and Africa.

Adansonia madagascariensis is one of six species of baobab endemic to Madagascar, where it occurs in the Madagascar dry deciduous forests.

Adansonia perrieri (Perrier's Baobab) is an endangered species in the genus Adansonia. This species is endemic to Madagascar.

Adansonia rubrostipa, commonly known as Fony Baobab is one of the eight species within the baobab genus, within the family Malvaceae. This tree is endemic to western Madagascar and occurs in the Madagascar dry deciduous forests.

Adansonia suarezensis (Suarez Baobab) is an endangered species in the genus Adansonia. It is endemic to Madagascar.

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