Message about baobab. The baobab tree lives for several thousand years and gradually disappears into the ground.

1. Botanical description
2. Living conditions
3. Legends of origin
4. Places of distribution
5. Application
6. Interesting facts

Adansonia (lat. Adansonia), or baobab, is a genus of tropical trees from the Malvaceae family. Lives in hot savannah conditions. Exotic plant has about ten species, distributed on the territory of the African mainland and the island of Madagascar.

Botanical description

The baobab does not look like an ordinary tree; it resembles a giant carrot with a bunch of tops sticking out of the ground or a small tower. Plants rarely reach a height of 17–18 m, but the width of the trunks of individual specimens can be up to 8–10 m. Closer to the top the trees become thinner, but not much. The root system is branched. The roots spread widely to the sides of the trunks, finding and sucking up the slightest drops of moisture. These trees do not create thickets and prefer to grow alone.

The side shoots of baobabs are located almost on the top of the head; their entire length of bare trunks is covered with thick brownish-brown bark. Its upper part is quite soft, the lower part is harder, it hides large number moisture. The branches are few, thickened, gnarled, forming a ragged, shapeless crown. The leaves are brown-green, with a smooth surface, simple or palmate, five- or seven-lobed, about 10 cm long and 5 cm wide.

Baobabs bloom from October to December. White five-fingered corollas with long red stamens usually bloom on branches devoid of leaves. The buds grow up to 20 cm in diameter and hang on short stalks. Each flower lives no more than a day. In the evening it emits a spicy aroma that attracts nearby insects and bats. By morning, the petals of the inflorescences close, and an unpleasant putrid smell appears. After a few more hours, the bud completely withers, breaks off, and falls to the ground. The ovary remains in its place. After a few weeks, fleshy fruits ripen, similar to swollen cucumbers or small melons. Under the light green, fleecy, thick shell is hidden a mealy pulp that has a sour taste and contains many small dark seeds.

The wood is soft, saturated with moisture, and has no growth rings.

Living conditions

Adansonia belongs tosucculents, able to concentrate water in their fleshy tissues. Habitat conditions predispose such species to survival. Hot weather with long dry seasons, poor soils are destructive for broadleaf species with thick crowns, a large number greenery During periods of drought, baobabs decrease in size, the trunks are noticeably blown away, and the leaves fall off. The plant begins to economically use the accumulated moisture. With the onset of the rainy season, the trees again fill with water and swell.

The vitality of baobabs is surprising. They do not die after most of the bark is removed from the trunks; they grow back from a small area of ​​the root that was preserved after cutting down. Soft, watery wood is easily affected by fungus in hot conditions. But even with severe destruction, rotting of the massif, the formation of large voids, the tree continues to grow and bear fruit. The lifespan of adansonia is about 1000 years. Baobabs grow slowly. Every year they rise by 5–10 cm and spread up to 40 cm in width.

Legends of origin

Residents of the areas where the baobab lives tell ancient legend, explaining the origin and strange appearance tree. God, creating the earth and all life on it, settled this plant in the most fertile and picturesque place near great river Congo. But the tree turned out to be capricious and did not want to stay there. He was disturbed by the sound of water and dampness. The baobab also did not like the mountain valley due to strong winds. For a long time God tried to please the tree by choosing different places. In the end, he got angry, tore out the baobab tree and stuck it upside down in the most uninhabitable dry savannah. The plant had to get used to new conditions, learn to absorb rare precipitation, and come to terms with its curious appearance.

Another legend says that the baobab tree used to grow in the sky, reaching gigantic sizes. One day he was thrown from there to the ground, because the Creator decided to stop the development of the giant. The branches stuck into the soil, but the roots remained sticking up.

Places of distribution

Adansonia Gregory (lat. Adansonia gregorii) lives in the northwestern territories of Australia, in places where the climate is similar to the savannas of Africa.

Some species are distributed in the northern and western parts of Madagascar and throughout the entire area of ​​African savannas: from Sudan to southern tropical latitudes, from Mauritania to the east coast.

In Madagascar, the natives consider the baobab sacred tree . They believe that in everyone locality There must be at least one talisman protecting the well-being of the inhabitants. Adansonia also serves as a source of food and water for people and animals. African elephants They love to eat these trees whole. Monkeys feast on the pulp of the fruit. Because of this, baobabs received another name - monkey breadfruit.

Application

All parts of wood contain a lot of moisture. The leaves, fruit pulp, and bark are suitable for consumption.

Bark

Seasoning for national dishes is made from the soft part of the tree bark. Ash is used in folk medicine as an antiseptic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent for colds, intestinal disorders, bites poisonous insects and reptiles.

Baskets, mats, fishing nets are woven from bast fibers, ropes and threads are made. In Europe, paper is made from this part of the bark.

Leaves and shoots

Not only animals eat greens and young branches of adansonia. In some national cuisines this is a very popular ingredient. Fresh leaves are used in salads, soups, baked, boiled and stewed. The branches are pickled and added to various dishes. Tinctures are prepared from dried leaves and shoots and used to treat inflammatory diseases.

Tree pollen is used as a raw material for making soap and glue.

Fruits and seeds

The pulp of the baobab fruit is light cream in color, resembles a pumpkin in consistency, and emits a ginger-like aroma. It is edible, contains vegetable proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and many useful mineral compounds. Ascorbic acid and there are much more B vitamins in it than in other fruits and vegetables. Eaten both raw and dried fruits . The pulp is also dried, ground into powder, and used to prepare a drink similar to ginger lemonade.

Raw seeds are chewed like sunflowers. Dried - finely ground, prepare a coffee drink from them.

It is believed that the fruits of baobabs perfectly relieve fatigue, prevent many diseases, and nourish the body no worse than meat and bread.

Even the hard shell of the fruit is used. The shell halves are used as bowls for storing small items, they are set on fire and driven away with the smoke of tropical gnats. Hair potions are prepared from the ash.

Wood

In industry, baobab wood is practically not used. It has no properties building materials. Powerful trunks - a source of moisture. The loose fibers, after drying, are used to make ropes. Baobab roots contain a red pigment, and the juice is sometimes used as a natural dye.

• Baobab is depicted on state emblems some African republics.
• Adansonia baobab was named after the biologist Michel Adanson, who described the monstrously thick tree. The circumference was about 55 m and the age was more than 5000 years.
• Baobab bark has fire-resistant properties. If the trees do get burned, they continue to grow..
• Even trees felled to the ground do not die. If the roots survive, then new branches and leaves grow on them. Baobabs are able to live in a horizontal position.
• Inside soft, watery trunks, due to fungal infection, huge hollows often form, more like caves. Residents use them as barns, bathhouses, warehouses, houses and even prisons. Trees converted into various rooms do not stop living, continue to bloom, and bear fruit..
• The root system penetrates to great depths and fills all adjacent space on the surface. Despite the fact that the crowns of the baobab trees do not provide any shade, nothing grows under them. There are not even small bushes or grass. Root shoots take everything nutrients, displace other flora.
• Baobabs that have outlived their useful life do not dry out, but gradually crumble and turn into a bunch of individual fibers. There are no hard mineral deposits in their wood, so when age-related changes in the bark, and moisture leaves the trunks, nothing holds their skeleton. Decay occurs over several decades.

Baobab or Adansonia digitata (lat. Adansonia digitata) - a species of trees from the genus Adansonia of the Malvaceae family,
characteristic of dry savannas tropical Africa.

The name Adansonia is given to the genus in honor of the French botanist and African explorer Michel Adanson (1727-1806); The specific name “digitata” refers to the shape of the leaves - they are 5-7-fingered on the baobab tree.

Baobab is famous for its unusual proportions. This is one of the thickest trees in the world - with an average trunk circumference of 9-10 m, its height is only 18-25 m (the Guinness Book of Records for 1991 talks about a baobab that had a girth of 54.5 m). At the top, the trunk is divided into thick, almost horizontal branches, forming a large crown, up to 38 m in diameter.
During the dry period, in winter, when the baobab sheds its leaves, it takes on the curious appearance of a tree growing with its roots upward.

An African legend says that the Creator planted a baobab tree in the Congo River valley, but the tree began to complain of dampness. Then the Creator transplanted it to the slope of the Moon Mountains, but even here the baobab was not happy. Angry at the constant complaints of the tree, God tore it out and threw it on dry ground. African land. Since then, the baobab has been growing upside down

The loose, porous wood of the baobab tree is capable of absorbing water like a sponge during the rainy season, which explains the unusual thickness of these trees - they are, in fact, huge water reservoirs. The collected liquid is protected from evaporation by a thick, up to 10 cm, grayish-brown bark, which is also loose and soft - a dent remains on it if struck with a fist; however, its interior is held together by strong fibers.

In winter, during the dry period, the tree begins to use up its moisture reserves - it decreases in volume and sheds its leaves. From October to December the baobab tree blooms.
Flowers The baobab has large (up to 20 cm in diameter), white, with five petals and purple stamens, on hanging pedicels.
They open in the late afternoon and live only one night, attracting the bats that pollinate them with their aroma. In the morning, the flowers wither, acquiring an unpleasant putrid odor, and fall off.

Subsequently, oblong structures develop fruit, which resemble cucumbers or melons covered with thick, hairy skin.
Inside the fruits are filled with sourish mealy pulp with black seeds.
The fruits are edible. Because of the addiction of monkeys (baboons) to them, the baobab was nicknamed “monkey breadfruit”.

The soft, water-saturated wood of baobabs is susceptible to fungal diseases, which is why the trunks of adult plants are usually hollow or hollow, rotted inside. The baobab tree also dies in a peculiar way: it seems to crumble and gradually settles, leaving behind only a pile of fiber. However, baobabs are extremely tenacious.
They quickly restore stripped bark; continue to bloom and bear fruit with an empty core; a cut down or felled tree is capable of putting out new roots.

The lifespan of baobabs is controversial - they do not have growth rings from which age can be reliably calculated.
Calculations carried out using radiocarbon dating (using C14) showed more than 5,500 years for a tree with a diameter of 4.5 m, although according to more conservative estimates, baobabs live “only” 1,000 years.

Usage
Local residents have found use for almost any part of the baobab tree.

Its bark is used to make a coarse, strong fiber that is used to make fishing nets, ropes, mats and fabrics. Quite effective medicines against colds, fever, dysentery, cardiovascular diseases, asthma, toothache, and insect bites are obtained from the ash of baobab bark.

Young leaves are added to salads, dry leaves are used as spices; in Nigeria they are used to make soup. Young shoots are boiled like asparagus.

Flower dust is used to make glue.

Fresh pulp tastes like ginger and is rich in vitamins C and B, and its nutritional value is equal to veal. It is quickly absorbed by the body and relieves fatigue. The pulp of the fruit is also dried and ground into powder; diluted in water, it gives soft drink, slightly similar to “lemonade”, hence another name for baobab - lemonade tree.

The seed of the fruit is edible raw, and a coffee substitute is made from roasted and crushed seeds.

The dried hard shell of the fruit is used instead of a glass. The smoke from burning the dry insides of the fruit drives away mosquitoes and other annoying insects.

The ashes of the burnt fruit are used to make soap and, most importantly, oil for frying.
Powder made from baobab fruits, women East Africa wash their heads,
and the red juice contained in its roots paints faces.

Until recently, baobab was prohibited from being eaten in Europe, but a couple of years ago permission was received. True, Europeans will become acquainted with the new product only in a processed form.
The pulp of baobab fruits is planned to be used in the composition fruit cocktails and nectars, as well as additives in muesli.

In local medicine, the fruit pulp, juice, leaves and bark were used as remedies against various fevers and dysentery. Medicines similar to quinine are obtained from baobab bark. Baobab pulp powder improves immunity, lowers cholesterol, and reduces menstrual pain.
Baobab is especially good for the skin - it not only improves its condition, but also nourishes the skin, relieves irritation and inflammatory processes and restores the epidermis in case of burns.

Baobab is a delicacy for elephants. African giants They eat them almost entirely, not only the leaves and branches, but also the trunk.

Describing his African expeditions, the famous traveler David Livingston recalled how he saw 20-30 people sleeping sweetly inside a dried trunk, and no one bothered anyone. In Kenya, on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, there is a baobab shelter, equipped with a door and a window. In Zimbabwe, a bus station was made from one tree, the “waiting room” of which can accommodate up to forty people. There is a baobab tree near Kasane in Botswana that was once used as a prison.

And a pub was opened in one of the oldest and largest trees on the planet.

It all started when in 1990 the Van Heerden couple bought a farm, which was located in the Limpopo province and was called Sunland. It is noteworthy that the condition of the site was very deplorable, but there was a baobab growing there, the size of which was quite surprising, namely, it was as much as 22 meters in height, and the girth of the baobab was about 47 meters. Thus, this representative of the flora is the largest of its kind.

Research carried out to determine the age of this tree showed that its age is about 6 thousand years, which exceeds the age of even the pyramids in Egypt.
In 1993, the Van Heerdens discovered that there was a cavity inside the tree and began cleaning it out. They were amazed by the size of the inside of the tree and decided to open a bar in it - Baobab Bar

Due to the fact that baobabs are naturally hollow inside, the tree trunk was practically not damaged during the construction of the bar.
So, natural openings in the tree trunk were used as windows and doors, as well as ventilation ducts.

Now in the Baobab bar you can see everything that should be in a traditional British pub - draft beer, bar stools, a stereo system, darts and even a telephone. The tree bar can accommodate more than fifty people, although ten to fifteen people can comfortably fit there.

Baobab is considered national tree Madagascar.
And in Japan there is baobab flavored Pepsi!

Africa has its own special plant. Baobab grows in Africa. Many people have heard about this amazing tree.

The baobab tree has many names: giant crab, huge nest, upside-down carrot. Well, its scientific name is Adansonia palmata from the Malvaceae family.

Its leaves are really palmate, and in the heat they fall off. If you have seen a baobab, you will not confuse it with any other. The trunk of this tree is unlike any other.

Description of baobab

Any continent of the earth often differs from others not only in its geographical location and geology, but also flora and fauna. Some types of flora are, so to speak, his special feature or "business card".

They say that according to one African legend, the appearance of the baobab tree is explained by the fact that God was angry and pulled it out of the ground. Then, having calmed down, he planted the tree again in the African savannah, but at that time he was absent-minded and therefore the roots of the baobab were at the top. This is how they explain that the crown of a tree has few leaves and its trunk is specific. They say that you can get 100 tons of water from one baobab tree.

Growing in dry tropical savannas the tree is famous for its thickness and longevity. It can reach a height of 18-25 meters, and the girth of the trunk is often up to 10 meters. Growing for several hundred years, baobabs can amaze you with the fact that their trunk girth is 40 meters or more. Due to the fact that the tree does not have growth rings, it is difficult to determine the age of the plant. The baobab grows for a thousand years, and its age is determined by radiocarbon dating. The age of one tree with a diameter of 43.5 m was determined to be 5500 years. Hardly anything else flora can boast of such longevity.

The most big tree in Africa it is Sunland Baobab in South Africa. The trunk of this tree has a girth of more than 45 meters and a height of almost 22 meters. Sunland Baobab is unique tree, inside which local entrepreneurs have placed a small pub. Moreover, I didn’t have to chisel anything, because it’s a natural cavity inside the barrel. The pub was built back in 1933 and it is still alive, like the tree itself. There are more than enough visitors who want to drink a glass of beer or something stronger in this pub.

And in the Republic of Botswana, near the city of Kasana, a hollow baobab tree was used as a prison for prisoners

While in Zambia at the Kayila Lodge camp site, if you suddenly feel the urge, don’t be surprised that you’ll have to relieve yourself in this bao-toilet-baba

The baobab has adapted to the dry period, immediately shedding its leaves and decreasing in volume. It begins to bloom from October to December. Flowers up to 20 cm with 5 white petals and purple stamens on pendulous stalks. They bloom at night and with their scent attract bats, which pollinate the flowers. In the morning, the flowers begin to wither and fall off with a putrid smell.

The fruits look like melons or cucumbers, which are covered with a hairy peel. Inside there is sourish mealy pulp with black seeds. Most often, rafts are eaten by monkeys and therefore the fruits are called “monkey breadfruit”. Elephants eat leaves and branches. Baobabs are also suitable for human nutrition.

Baobab wood is soft and filled with water. Because of this, the tree often suffers from fungal diseases. The trunks turn out to be hollow. The baobab dies in its own way. The trunk crumbles and settles, then only one fiber remains. A tree can quickly recover from disease and re-grow bark, bloom and bear fruit, with an empty core in the trunk. Even a cut down or fallen tree can take on new roots. If one root remains in the ground, then the trunk can grow horizontally. It happens that for unknown reasons, a baobab tree may look unusual, as if someone had tied it in a knot.

Types of baobabs

Although the places where baobabs grow are very limited, there are several varieties of baobab and, although they are all related, they are still noticeably different from each other and grow in different places. Thus, two species grow in Africa: Adansonia digitata and Adansonia kilima. There are six species in Madagascar: Adansonia grandidieri, Adansonia madagascariensis, Adansonia perrieri, Adansonia rubrostipa or otherwise Adansonia fony, Adansonia suarezensis and Adansonia za. In Australia there is only one species - Adansonia gregori or otherwise Adansonia gibbosa. Learn more about the features of these types:

1. Adansonia palmata or Adansonia digitata. This is precisely the most famous and widespread African baobab. This is a large tree up to 25 m high and a trunk diameter of up to 12 m, covered with gray smooth, sometimes lumpy bark. Of all the varieties of baobabs in Madagascar and Australia, only Adansonia palmata has white pendant flowers. The fruits of this baobab are different shapes: round, ovoid, oval. Its homeland is a semi-arid part of the Sahara Desert.

2., the most beautiful of the baobabs. This tree is up to 25 m tall and up to 3 m in diameter. It has a smooth cylindrical trunk, tapering towards the top, covered with reddish-gray, smooth bark. The branches grow only in the upper part, the crown is almost horizontal. The flowers are white, becoming yellowish over time. The fruits are ovoid or round in shape with reddish plumage. It will melt in the west of Madagascar in the areas of Morondava and Morombe. Named after Alfred Grandidier, a French botanist and explorer of Madagascar. Adansonia grandidieri is the symbol of Madagascar.

3. - very rare species baobab The tree is big and average size, are found about 30 m high. They have uneven crowns with thick branches growing almost horizontally or at an angle. The flowers of Adansonia perrieri are yellow or yellow-orange. The fruits are large, up to 30 cm in size, with small seeds. It grows only in the north of Madagascar in the province of Antsiranana. It is considered an endangered species; no more than 10 places where this species grows are known.

4. or Mountain Baobab is very similar to Adansonia palmate. It is difficult to distinguish externally; the difference is noticeable in the shape of the flowers. Highlighted in special kind after a thorough study due to the fact that she is a tetraploid, that is, she has 4n chromosomes in her cells, unlike other diploids that have 2n chromosomes. It grows in eastern Africa, in Namibia, in the mountains above 650 meters above sea level.

5. also an endangered species. The tree is tall, single-stemmed, up to 25 m tall and up to 2 m in diameter, tapering from the base to the top. The branches grow almost horizontally, so the crown is flat. The flowers are white, the fruits are oblong. The seeds are the largest of all baobabs. For one kg. there are 450 pieces, instead of the usual 1000. It grows only in the north of Madagascar in the province of Antsiranana.

6. . Tree different heights, from 5 to 30 meters. The barrel is cylindrical or conical. The branches usually grow upward. The flowers are yellow. The fruits are oblong, up to 30 cm in size, often almost black in color. Adansonia za is the most common baobab species in Madagascar. It grows in the west of the island, mainly in the province of Toliara.

7. - baobab of various sizes and shapes with an irregular crown. Height from 5 to 20 meters. The bark is light gray. The flowers are red. The fruits are round, about 10 cm in size. Distributed in dry or semi-dry forests in the northwestern part of Madagascar in the province of Mahejanga.

8. Adansonia rubrostipa(rubrostipa), or Adansonia fony. The shortest species of Madagascar baobabs. The usual height of these trees is 4-5 m, but sometimes they are found up to 20 m. This tree has a bottle-shaped trunk. The bark is gray, becoming brown and reddish with age. The leaves are lacy, the crown is irregular. The flowers are yellow or orange. The fruits are round, with red plumage. It grows mainly in the province of Tulear in western Madagascar.

9. or Adansonia hybos. A low-growing tree, up to 10 meters, with a bottle-shaped trunk covered with gray smooth bark. The crown is shapeless. Flowers are white or light cream. The fruits are round or ovoid. It grows only in the north and north-west of Australia.

Applications of baobab

The local population uses the baobab tree in everyday life as shelter, food, medicine, and water. Young leaves are used to prepare salads and soups, while dry leaves become a seasoning. Crushed bark replaces pepper. Oil from the fruit is used in cooking. The pulp of the baobab fruit is rich in vitamins B and C. Its taste is similar to ginger, and its calorie content is not inferior to veal. It relieves fatigue and is well absorbed. Therefore, it is dried and ground into flour.

By diluting flour in water, you get a drink that tastes like lemonade. Because of this, some people call the baobab tree the “lemonade tree.” True, such a drink is not common in Europe and America, but exotic Cola and Pepsi made from baobab are already produced in quite large quantities and they are in quite good demand. Baobab seeds can also be used in food; from roasted and crushed seeds you can prepare a quite tolerable drink reminiscent of coffee. And raw seeds are an effective antidote to strophanthus, a poison that many people use to smear arrowheads.

Baobab is often called the “Pharmacy Tree” or the “Tree of Life”. And this is true. It has been proven that baobab fruits contain many amino acids, micro- and macroelements, and vitamins. In terms of antioxidants, they are superior to oranges, blueberries, blueberries, kiwis, and apples. And in terms of vitamin C content - bananas and oranges. Baobab is rich in vitamins F, A, C, group B, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, iron, zinc, manganese, sodium, pectin, natural acids, amino acids, and fiber. In ancient times, baobab was used to treat and prevent a number of diseases. It is used for diarrhea, restores intestinal motility, prevents and treats dysbiosis, gastritis, improves the quality of skin, hair and nails, is used for allergies, normalizes stool, reduces varicose veins, prevents anorexia and anemia, treats hemorrhoids, osteoporosis, normalizes intestinal microflora, increase immunity. IN recent years In pharmacies in the USA and Europe you can buy dietary supplements and food ingredients from it. Baobab Life is very popular. This new drug is increasingly used in different countries, including Russia.

Tree bark ash is used in folk medicine to treat fever, cardiovascular diseases, toothache, dysentery, asthma, colds, and insect bites. The oil is used in cosmetics and applied externally to treat psoriasis, eczema and dermatitis. And flower dust has an adhesive essence and sticks to all objects. The fruits of the plant are dried and used instead of glasses. The dry fruit is set on fire and the smoke is used to protect it from mosquitoes and other insects. The resulting ash is then used to make soap. Women wash their hair with powder from the fruit, and dye their hair and face with red juice from the roots. The bark provides a strong but coarse fiber that is used to weave fishing nets, mats, ropes or fabrics.

Residents of Africa consider the baobab to be a tree that preserves the earth, gives life and fertility. It is not for nothing that this tree is depicted on the coats of arms of the Central African Republic and Senegal. The baobab tree has not yet been fully studied and holds many secrets.

An incredible baobab tree... its amazing appearance is striking in its disproportion: despite the fact that the baobab is a relatively short tree (only 18-25 m), it is considered one of the thickest trees in the world - on average the trunk circumference is 9-10 meters, but the Guinness Book of Records for 1991 talks about a baobab tree with a diameter of as much as 54.5 m! At the top, the trunk is divided into thick, almost horizontal branches, forming a large crown, up to 38 m in diameter. During the dry period, in winter, when the baobab sheds its leaves, it takes on the curious appearance of a tree growing with its roots upward.

An African legend says that the Creator planted a baobab tree in the Congo River valley, but the tree began to complain of dampness. Then the Creator transplanted it to the slope of the Moon Mountains, but even here the baobab was not happy. Angry at the tree's constant complaints, God tore it out and threw it onto dry African soil. Since then, the baobab has been growing upside down.

The origin of the name "baobab" is unknown. Some believe it comes from "bu hobab", the name used for the plant in the markets of Cairo. Or perhaps it was derived from "bu hibab", Arabic for "fruit with many seeds".

For centuries, much of what was known about baobabs was based solely on African baobabs (Digitata). The first mention of the baobab dates back to the 14th century, by the Arab traveler Ibn Batuta, a massive trunk filled with water. In 1661, the writer Flacourt praised the giants, speaking of Madagascar, he writes: "In this region, there is a tree called Anadzahé, which is monstrously colossal large. This tree is hollow inside, 12 feet in diameter, round and ends in an arch, like the one at the bottom." parts of the lamp. There are only a few small branches here and there at the top."

What strange things do these medieval travelers tell: a huge hollow trunk filled with water...? Indeed, a mature African baobab tree is a natural water reservoir capable of holding over 100,000 liters of water! Loose, porous baobab wood is capable of absorbing water like a sponge during the rainy season, which explains the unusual thickness of these trees, and the collected liquid is protected from evaporation by a thick, up to 10 cm, grayish-brown bark, also loose and soft - it remains on it from a blow with a fist dent; however, its interior is held together by strong fibers.

The soft, water-saturated wood of baobabs is susceptible to fungal diseases, which is why the trunks of adult plants are usually hollow or hollow, rotted inside. The baobab tree also dies in a peculiar way: it seems to crumble and gradually settles, leaving behind only a pile of fiber. However, the vitality of the baobab tree is amazing. Unlike most other trees, the baobab does not die if its bark is torn off - it grows back. Nothing happens to the baobab even if it falls to the ground. As long as at least one root remains in contact with the soil, the tree continues to grow lying down.

The baobab is one of the oldest inhabitants of our planet: calculations carried out using radiocarbon dating (using C14) showed more than 5,500 years for a tree with a diameter of 4.5 m, although according to more conservative estimates, baobabs live “only” 1,000 years. The fact that scientists still cannot accurately determine the age of baobabs is explained by the fact that the lifespan of these giants cannot be calculated from the growth rings: they simply do not exist...

When talking about the baobab, many researchers often recall Saint-Exupéry's famous fairy tale about the little prince, whose hero was constantly trying to save his tiny planet from the roots of the baobab trees, due to the growth of which it cracked and fell apart. The tale says nothing about how the prince maintained his existence. Meanwhile, as the same researchers note, he could well get everything he needs from the baobab tree.

He could brew coffee in the morning from roasted and crushed coffee seeds; They are also edible raw. Baobab fruits are pleasant to taste and rich in vitamin C and calcium.

The dried shell of the fruit is dry and hard - it completely replaces a glass or vessel. The ashes of the burnt fruit, saturated with potash, make excellent soap. East African women wash their hair with an extract from the powdered contents of the fruit, and use the red juice contained in the roots to give their skin softness and shine.

Porous bark and wood are good for making paper, fabric, and twine. A tincture of baobab leaves treats fever, kidney disease, asthma, diarrhea, insect bites, and a paste containing powdered grains helps with toothache. The leaves are used to make soup, and the first sprouts of the baby baobab taste like asparagus. Flower pollen is suitable for making glue, and the smoke from the burnt filling of the fruit drives away annoying insects. At night, the prince could easily rest peacefully in a hollow baobab tree.

This is how baobab trees bloom.

The van Heerden couple came up with an original use for the hollow trunk of a baobab tree: they built a real bar in it! The tree that grew on their site was remarkable: 22 meters in height and 47 meters in girth. Among the baobabs of its species (Adansonia digitata), this one turned out to be the largest.

In addition, radiocarbon dating showed that the baobab is 6 thousand years old. He's much older Egyptian pyramids! He saw stone age people. At the same time, the baopab can comfortably and spaciously accommodate 15 people. But if necessary, the company can be consolidated. “We once had 54 people walking at once,” says Heather van Heerden, “but I wouldn’t recommend repeating that experience.”

It would seem that it would not be barbaric to turn the oldest and largest tree on the planet into a bar? What else? It’s not for nothing that more than seven thousand people a year come to see it. But jealous conservationists can rest assured: this tree continues to grow safely, despite the drinking establishment operating intensively inside its trunk. Moreover, such use of the baobab is not an isolated case: describing his African expedition, the famous traveler David Livingston recalled how he saw 20-30 people sleeping sweetly inside a dried trunk, and no one bothered anyone. In Kenya, on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, there is a baobab shelter, equipped with a door and a window. In Zimbabwe, a bus station was made from one tree, the “waiting room” of which can accommodate up to forty people. There is a baobab tree near Kasane in Botswana that was once used as a prison.

And one last thing. The trunk of a baobab tree can also be a reliable sarcophagus. This is exactly how poets and jesters used to be buried in Senegal, believing that they did not deserve earthly burial. But isn’t an almost immortal tree a worthy grave for a poet?

Information and photos taken from Wikipedia articles

BAOBAB, or ADANSONIA FINGERLY (lat. Adansonia digitata) - tropical tree with a very thick trunk from the genus Adansonia of the Malvaceae family, characteristic of Australian semi-deserts and dry savannas of tropical Africa. Sometimes the name "baobab" is used to refer to all types of adansonia.

ADANSONIA (Adansonia L.) - large trees from Africa and Australia, including African baobab ( Adansonia digitata). A genus of plants in the Malvaceae family, including 8 species of trees. Plants reach 3 - 30 m in height and have a trunk diameter of 7 - 11 m. The name "Adansonia" was given to the genus (1753) in honor of Adanson Michel (French Michel Adanson, 1727-1806) - French botanist, traveler, philosopher, detail who described the baobab; one of the founders natural system plant classifications; one of the first to use mathematical methods in biology.

The specific name "digitata" refers to the shape of the leaves - they are 5 - 7-fingered in the baobab tree. Among trees, the baobab rightfully holds the world record. The baobab is famous for its unusual size. This is one of the thickest trees in the world - with an average trunk circumference of 9 - 10 m, its height is only 18 - 25 m (the Guinness Book of Records for 1991 talks about a baobab with a diameter of as much as 54.5 m). At the top, the trunk is divided into thick, almost horizontal branches, forming a large crown, up to 38 m in diameter. During the dry period, in winter, when the baobab sheds its leaves, it takes on the curious appearance of a tree growing with its roots upward.

An African legend says that the Creator planted a baobab tree in the Congo River valley, but the tree began to complain of dampness. Then the Creator transplanted it to the slope of the Moon Mountains, but even here the baobab was not happy. Angry at the tree's constant complaints, God tore it out and threw it onto dry African soil. Since then, the baobab has been growing upside down.

The lifespan of baobabs is controversial - they do not have growth rings from which age can be reliably calculated. Calculations carried out using radiocarbon dating showed more than 5,500 years for a tree with a diameter of 4.5 m, although according to more conservative estimates, baobabs live only 1,000 years.

Unlike most other trees, the baobab does not die: if its bark is torn off, it grows back. Nothing happens to the baobab even if it falls to the ground. As long as at least one root remains in contact with the soil, the tree continues to grow lying down.

Huge hollows often form in the trunks of these “fat green guys.” Thus, the outstanding English traveler David Livingston wrote that he saw 20-30 people sleeping sweetly in the hollow of a dried baobab trunk, and no one bothered anyone. In the Republic of Kenya, on the Nairobi-Mobasa highway, there is a baobab shelter - a hollow in it is equipped with doors and a window. In the Republic of Zimbabwe, a bus station was installed in the hollow of a tree, with a waiting room that can accommodate up to 40 people. Near the town of Kasane in the Republic of Botswana there grows a baobab tree, the hollow of which was used as a prison. In Namibia there is a baobab tree, in the hollow of which there is a bathhouse. There's even a bathtub. The hollow trunks of baobab trees are used for temporary dwellings and storerooms, and in some cases they were specially adapted for water storage tanks.

There are many legends associated with the baobab. It is not surprising, because many animals, insects and birds depend on these amazing trees in Africa. And for a person left alone with nature, the baobab can be a salvation. This is one of the most revered trees in Africa. Nothing in it is wasted. In the mythology of many African peoples, the baobab personifies life, fertility and appears as the guardian of the earth. The inhabitants of the savannas have a custom according to which everyone must plant baobab seeds near their hut.

Local residents have found use for almost any part of the baobab tree. Its bark is used to make a coarse, strong fiber that is used to make fishing nets, ropes, mats and fabrics. Flower dust is used to make glue. Quite effective medicines are obtained from the ash of baobab bark. A tincture of baobab leaves treats fever, kidney disease, asthma, diarrhea, insect bites, and a paste containing powdered grains helps with toothache.

Young leaves are added to salads, dry leaves are used as spices; in Nigeria they are used to make soup. Young shoots are boiled like asparagus. Baobab fruits are pleasant to taste and rich in vitamin C and calcium. The fresh pulp tastes like ginger and is rich in vitamins, and its nutritional value is equal to that of veal. It is quickly absorbed by the body and relieves fatigue. The pulp of the fruit is also dried and ground into powder; diluted in water, it gives a soft drink, slightly similar to “lemonade”, hence another name for the baobab - lemonade tree. The seed of the fruit is edible raw, and a coffee substitute is made from roasted and crushed seeds.

The dried hard shell of the fruit is used instead of a glass or vessel. The smoke from burning the dry insides of the fruit drives away mosquitoes and other annoying insects. The ashes of the burnt fruit are used to make soap and, most importantly, oil for frying. East African women wash their hair with powder made from the fruit of the baobab tree, and the red juice contained in its roots is used to paint their faces to give the skin softness and shine. They say that where baobab trees grow, no gardens are planted because the leaves of these trees “replace all vegetables.”

But monkeys especially love the fruits of the baobab, which is why it is also called “monkey breadfruit.” Well, as for the elephants, they literally eat the whole baobab tree - not only the leaves and branches, but also the trunk! Luckily it's soft. In some places, many baobab trees have been knocked down or severely damaged by elephants.

Another giant of the earth's flora grows on the American continent, the famous giant sequoia(mammoth tree), representative coniferous trees, whose ancestors lived on our Earth about 100 million years ago. The thickness of sequoia trunks often reaches more than 20 meters. In one of these giants, growing in America, in Yosemite Park, a tunnel was built back in 1881, through which buses now pass freely.

Among straight-trunked trees, Australian eucalyptus trees are the largest in height; their growth reaches 150 meters or more. Eucalyptus trees produce wood that is as hard as iron and does not rot. Piles and telegraph poles made from eucalyptus trees are the most durable, and masts can withstand any storms. The roots of these trees pump such a huge amount of water from the soil into the leaves that with the help of these green pumps people began to drain the swamps and improve the climate.

source florets.ru

Between October and December for baobab The time of flowering and fruiting is coming. He dresses in green foliage and generally enjoys life. Flowering baobab- an amazing sight! On long stalks hanging from the branches, huge (up to 20 cm in diameter) fragrant white flowers of a bizarre shape appear with many purple stamens, similar to a powder puff.

True, flowers bloom at night, attracting with their aroma nocturnal creatures that pollinate them, including bats. In the morning, the flowers still have an attractive appearance, but then they fade, darken, and become bad smell, and fall off.

After flowering, bluish-green velvety fruits (20 cm or more in length) develop from the ovary, shaped like large cucumbers or small oblong melons. Under the thick skin they have juicy, mealy, sour pulp with black seeds and a ginger flavor.

The fruits are eaten with pleasure by baboons, for which baobab called monkey breadfruit.

They claim that in the fruits baobab contains twice as much calcium as milk; 6 times more vitamin C than oranges; as well as large amounts of antioxidants, iron and potassium.

In his homeland baobab called the tree of life - because it supports the lives of many living in African savannas creatures Birds build nests in its branches, bats they drink flower nectar, baboons eat fruits, elephants can knock down and eat almost an entire tree.

For unique ability absorb moisture some of the botanists want to deprive baobab right to be called a tree. A succulent plant - that’s what scientists now propose to call it. Thus, they put it on a par with cacti and aloe.

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