Mysterious baobab: a miracle tree. Baobab: description, interesting facts and use

Baobab is the most characteristic tree African savannah. It is famous for its unusual proportions. This amazing and mystical tree sometimes reaches 30 meters in height and more than 10 meters in width. Baobabs take a variety of shapes from jugs to teapots... Baobab wood is loose and contains a lot of water, which the plant stores for the dry season. The baobab tree can store as much as 120,000 liters of water to withstand severe drought conditions...



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 onto dry African soil. Since then, the baobab has been growing upside down.
Baobab is a sacred tree in Africa. And many myths and legends are associated with it... For example, if you give a baby a drink from a container made of baobab wood, he will become strong and powerful...
And if you dare to pick a Baobab flower, a lion will eat you... Well, if you drink the water in which the seeds of this tree were soaked, you will become invulnerable to a crocodile...

No one can say exactly how old the baobab is - it does not have annual rings like other trees. No one doubts that it is a long-liver, and an age of a thousand years is considered quite normal for this plant. Some researchers even say that baobabs live for five thousand years!

There are as many as 8 species of baobabs in the world.






The wide trunk of the baobab at the top splits into many intricately curved branches. Its small leaves do not correspond to the size of the tree. But it turns out that it is precisely these leaves that enable the tree to tolerate drought well. How smaller size leaves, the smaller the evaporation area and more possibilities retain moisture. During the dry season, trees usually shed their leaves. The baobab tree spends 9 months of the year without leaves. In general, the leaves are edible.






Local residents have found use for almost any part of the baobab tree. From its bark a coarse, strong fiber is obtained, which is used to make fishing nets, ropes, mats and fabrics. Young leaves are added to salads, dry leaves are used as spices; in Nigeria they are used to make soup. The fruit pulp, which tastes like ginger and is rich in vitamins C and B, is 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. Roasted seeds are used as a coffee substitute.

The fruits of baobabs are ovoid, thick-walled, tomentose-pubescent capsules; they contain many small black seeds distributed by animals. The seeds are embedded in white pulp, the sour taste of which attracts many animals, especially monkeys, which is why the baobab is also called monkey bread.
Baobab fruits, as scientists have found, are rich in vitamins C, B1, B2, they also contain large quantities contains calcium and antioxidants. At the same time, baobab is 6 times higher in vitamin C than oranges, and its calcium content is 2 times higher than in milk.

At first wet season Huge flowers bloom (15-20 cm in diameter). They hang on long stalks like large snow globes with purple stamens. Each baobab flower lives only one night and withers at dawn. Feasting on the pollen and nectar of flowers, bats and lemurs pollinate them. At night, these animals mysteriously rustle the leaves on the tree. No wonder Africans believed that a spirit lives in every baobab flower.
After flowering, small fruits appear, which, growing, become the size of a zucchini.

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 fruit cocktails and nectars, as well as an additive in muesli.

In local medicine, the fruit pulp, juice, leaves and bark were used as remedies against various fevers and dysentery. A medicine similar to quinine is 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, inflammatory processes and restores the epidermis in case of burns.


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


Old baobabs often develop hollows in the trunk. The dimensions of the hollow are sometimes so large that Africans build a garage in it for cars. 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 known cases when the hollow (from time to time) trunk of a baobab was used as a prison, a bus stop or a place to sleep. In some countries, enterprising residents set up in this huge African tree shops and pubs.


In the mythology of many African peoples The baobab personifies life, fertility and appears as the guardian of the earth.

Baobab or adansonia is a very unusual plant. At first glance, it seems that this is a tree growing with its roots upward. It has a very wide trunk, reaching 10-30 m in circumference. The height of the baobab is 18-25 m. The tree can live up to 5 thousand years.

Baobab has amazing endurance. It does not die when the bark is cut off - it grows on the tree again. The plant can survive even if it falls to the ground. If at least one root remains in contact with the soil, the tree will continue to grow in a lying position.

Having learned about such unusual characteristics of this tree, many will be interested in the question, where does baobab grow?

On what continent does the baobab tree grow?

Africa, namely its tropical part, is considered the native continent of the baobab. Many types of baobab are common in Madagascar. When asked whether baobab grows in, one can answer that a certain species of it is located there.

The determining factor in which natural area The baobab grows, is its climate. The tropics, and specifically savannas consisting of forest-steppe, are characterized by two hot seasons that replace each other - dry and rainy.

Unique properties of baobab

Baobab is a favorite plant among the local population due to its many useful properties characteristic of him:

So the location of this amazing plant determined by the climate on the continents where the baobab tree grows.

Baobab is truly amazing tree. It is considered not only the thickest tree in the world, but also the longest-lived. The baobab can live for more than 2000 years, and other scientists assure that it can live for more than 4 thousand years. However, it is not possible to verify this, because this tree does not have annual rings. The diameter of baobabs can reach 11 meters, and its height reaches 25 meters.

When it rains, the baobab stores water in its trunk, and even termites are unable to damage it, since its bark is thoroughly saturated with moisture, however, due to oversaturation with it, baobabs are susceptible to fungal diseases and often adult trees have a hollow or half-rotten trunk. During the rainy season, the tree can accumulate about 120 tons of water.

During periods of drought, despite the fact that water is stored, the baobab has to slow down its vital activity and during this time its leaves turn yellow and fall off. Then it looks very unusual, it may seem that the upper branches are roots, which is why the baobab is also called a tree with roots growing upward. Baobaboos are not scary and sandstorms, since its roots go very deep into the ground.

This amazing tree begins to bloom only at night, and each flower lives only one night, despite the fact that flowering continues throughout the rainy season, from October to December. Baobab flowers are white and very large, which, as soon as they begin to open, have a pleasant smell, but after pollination they begin to emit an almost stench. And flowers are pollinated by none other than bats, which are called palm fruit bats. Mice flock to the pleasantly smelling buds and manage to pollinate all the flowering trees overnight.

On the same night, the flowers fall off, and only the fruits remain, which are black in color and very similar in shape to a cucumber. Baobab fruits can be eaten; both baboons and people eat them with pleasure. Their pulp contains black seeds and has a sour taste. A drink reminiscent of lemonade and even coffee is prepared from the same pulp. Baobab lemonade perfectly quenches thirst and enriches the body with vitamins B and C, and coffee is prepared by roasting the seeds.

It’s interesting that if you tear off the bark from a baobab tree, it soon grows back, and fallen tree continues to grow if at least one root remains in the soil. When a tree reaches a certain age, it stops growing and its trunk decreases in diameter. It is known that the oldest baobab on the planet, whose age is estimated at 6 thousand years.

It is also unusual for baobabs to die. They slowly settle until they crumble, leaving behind a mountain of fairly durable fiber.

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An ancient legend of African aborigines tells the following about the baobab: “On the bank of a fast, deep river, God set aside a lawn for the baobab. The tree became capricious, it really didn’t like growing on the damp bank. The Creator carefully moved the baobab to the slope high mountain, but the disgruntled tree didn’t like it again. Then the angry Lord stuck it in the middle of the barren savannah, upside down." So now the baobab grows in the arid African desert.

Previously, the baobab was not considered a tall tree; it took precedence among the most tall trees Sequoia and eucalyptus held for many years. However, not so long ago, in Africa they discovered baobab of gigantic size. The crown of the tree shot up to the very clouds, and the height of the plant was 189 meters. Baobab trees are long-lived. At the end of the 18th century, researcher of African flora Michael Adanson found a gigantic baobab tree. Its trunk exceeded 9 meters in diameter, and age was 5150 years. Baobab highlighted Alexander Humboldt, calling this tree the most ancient monument of our planet.

To grasp such a huge baobab tree, an entire school class would have to join hands.

The baobab is highly respected by the indigenous people Equatorial Africa, the tree is given many nicknames for its amazing properties. And its real name was given to it by Carl Linnaeus; the scientific name of the baobab sounds poetic - “ adansonia».

The baobab has adapted to life in a waterless area, in terrible heat. Its roots go deep into the ground for many kilometers in search of water. Tree bark damaged by people or elephants recovers surprisingly quickly. Baobab is not afraid of destructive steppe fires. If the flame damages the tree, even burns out its core, the persistent giant continues to grow. Huge hollows are formed in the trunk of the baobab due to damage to the soft core by mushrooms. But even then the tree continues to serve man. Rainwater accumulates in the hollow trunk, which local residents use during dry times. Some tribes bury their leaders in hollows. Scientists have discovered another interesting phenomenon - baobab accumulates uranium in its wood.

Baobab flower. For a long time It remained a mystery who pollinates the baobab flowers? It turned out that at night, baobab flowers are pollinated by bats, which fly in to feast on flower nectar.

In the desert where this amazing tree grows, there is a very hot, drying summer. The baobab sheds its leaves during this period to reduce moisture loss. But in winter, when the rainy season begins, the tree is covered with young, dense foliage and blooms. Adansonia flowers are large, up to 20 cm in diameter, with delicate white petals. At night, baobab flowers are pollinated by bats, which fly in to feast on the flower nectar.

After some time, the fruits, similar to long cucumbers, ripen. The pulp of the fruit is juicy and soft - local monkeys are not averse to eating them. Locals call the baobab monkey's breadfruit tree..

Local residents eat baobab fruits.

All parts of the tree are used by local residents. The seeds and fruits are used to prepare refreshing drinks and medicines; the leaves are used to prepare National dishes. The roasted fruits are eaten, and the extract from the seeds is used for poisoning. Strong bark fibers are used in making ropes and coarse fabrics, and they are also used to make strings for African musical instruments.

When dying, the baobab does not fall to the ground - it crumbles, leaving behind a pile of fibers. Savannah residents respect the unique tree; everyone tries to plant a baobab next to their hut.