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Allee de Baobab, Madagascar |
Imagine
if you pulled a carrot from the garden, turned it upside down and stuck it back
in the ground with the roots facing upwards. What you would see is very much
like the Baobab tree. It is quite bizarre in appearance, with a barrel-like
trunk that can reach close to 15 meters (50 feet) in diameter. It would take
over 25 people linking arms to form a circle around some of the largest of these
trees.
The
Baobab can also grow very tall and some trees are 25 meters (82 feet) tall. The
branches are short and twisted. Its roots are shallow but wide-spreading to take
advantage of the infrequent but heavy downpours of the savannah regions of
Africa where it grows abundantly in its native environment. The Baobab is also
found naturally in Madagascar and Australia and has been planted in the
Caribbean.
Africa’s
Life Line
Like
animals that store energy in fat to survive a long winter, these trees store
water and nutrients in their trunks to survive the dry season. The trunk is
hollow and a large tree can hold up to 9,000 liters (2,000 imperial gallons) of
water. A hole with a stopper (bung) is commonly installed at the base of the
tree to allow water to be removed. A line of such trees across the Kalahari once
functioned as oases that helped travelers cross the desert. Leaving the
bung out of a tree so that the water was wasted was a serious offence,
punishable by death!
During
the rainy season the Baobab is covered in leaves, but the leaves drop off during
dry periods. This helps to reduce moisture loss. If the tree is watered
regularly, the Baobab will retain its leaves year-round. If there are any leaves
left after the fruit bats finish with their chosen delicacy, many local people
cook the leaves and eat them like spinach. However, care must be taken not to
eat too much, since the high mucilage content gives them a strong laxative
effect.
Elephants
seem to think that the Baobab is some kind of chewing gum vending machine.
Aggressive young bulls use their strength to up-root the tree, strip off the
bark, and chew on the fibrous wood, spitting out the woody wad after their
saliva has extracted the nutrients. Watch your step after they have been around!
Baobab
and its People
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The Baobab’s gourd-like fruit is loaded with Vit C |
The
indigenous people use the inner, fibrous bark of the Baobab tree to make string,
rope, fabric, netting, brooms, and more recently filters and paper, especially
for monetary bills. At the end of the dry season, large white flowers appear,
hanging on long stalks. The flowers only open at night and are pollinated by
nectar-feeding bats. The appearance of the hard, gourd-like fruit is a welcome
site for those living nearby, as the pulp is high in Vitamin C and the source of
a variety of foods. It can be ground into flour and baked like a bread (hence
the name, Monkey-Bread Tree) or made into a nutritious drink (giving it the
name, Lemonade Tree). The seeds are roasted and ground into a peanut butter-like
substance and used as a source of cooking oil. Even the wood of this tree is
sometimes eaten.
The
hollow trunks of Baobab trees are widely considered in Africa to be resting
places for ancestors. Burial of corpses in the trunks, especially of chiefs,
along with weapons, pots, agricultural implements and sometimes beadwork, was
once common. It is believed that whoever cuts down a Baobab will be haunted by
its spirits. These hollowed out trunks have been used as shelters, and one tree
was converted into a bus shelter that accommodated 40 people. A local African
story says that if you meet a crocodile waiting for a bus, then soak some of the
seeds in water and splash it all over your body. The crocodile will go away. Be
careful if you ever take shelter in a Baobab too; there are confirmed reports of
dead trees bursting into flames from spontaneous combustion.
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Bush Babies make their homes in Baobabs |
Insects,
reptiles, birds and mammals find food and shelter under the Baobab. The Bush
Baby, a small mammal with large round eyes and big ears, feeds on the flowers at
night, and it may also help in pollination. Well adapted to arboreal life, Bush
Babies leap great distances in the treetops, and often make their homes in
Baobabs. Numerous birds roost in the trees, including red-winged starlings,
swifts, buffalo-weavers, rollers, hornbills, parrots, kingfishers, lovebirds,
barn owls, and Wahlberg’s Eagle. Venomous snakes, such as the Boomslang, also
use the tree for shelter, so check that Baobab branch before you reach for it.
If it moves, put your hands back in your pockets and wait for the next bus to
come along!
*
Stephen Aitken is the Managing Editor of ‘Biodiversity’,
published by ‘Tropical Conservancy’. Your emails will be forwarded
to him by contacting the editor at: ScienceTech@islam-online.net.
