Changes

{{SPlantbox

{{SPlantbox

|familia=Bombaceae

|familia=Bombaceae

|genus=Adansonia  

|genus=Adansonia

|species=digitata  

|species=digitata

|common_name=Baobab

|common_name=Baobab

|name_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia

|name_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia

|usda_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia

|usda_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia

|max_zone=12

|max_zone=12

|image=Upload.png

|image=Baobab and elephant, Tanzania .jpg

|image_width=240

|image_width=240

}}

}}

'''''Adansonia digitata''''', the '''baobab''', is the most widespread of the ''[[Adansonia]]'' species on the African continent, found in the hot, dry [[savanna]]hs of [[sub-Saharan Africa]].  It also grows, having spread secondary to cultivation, in populated areas.  The northern limit of its distribution in Africa is associated with rainfall patterns; only on the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] coast and in the [[Sudan]] does its occurrence venture naturally into the [[Sahel]]. On the Atlantic coast this may be due to spreading after cultivation.  Its occurrence is very limited in [[Central Africa]] and it is found only in the very north of [[Southern Africa]]. In [[Eastern Africa]] the trees grow also in [[Scrubland|shrublands]] and on the coast.  In [[Angola]] and [[Namibia]] the baobabs grow in woodlands, and in coastal regions, in addition to savannahs. Also found in [[Dhofar]] region of [[Oman]] and [[Yemen]] in the [[Arabian Peninsula]], [[Asia]]. This tree was found recently in India in the states of [[Andhra Pradesh]] (although this claim is disputed)<ref>{{cite web|title=[http://www.hoax-slayer.com/mysterious-tree.shtml Mysterious carved tree hoax]|accessdate=2010-06-04}}</ref> and in [[Karnataka]] <ref name="Deccannews">{{cite web|title=[http://www.deccanherald.com/content/72901/rare-endangered-tree-found-belgaum.html Rare,endangered tree found in Belgaum district]|publisher= Deccan Herald|date=2010-06-01|accessdate=2010-06-04}}</ref>

| name = ''Adansonia digitata''

 

| common_names =    <!--- if multiple, list all, if none, leave blank -->

The trees usually grow as solitary individuals, and are large and distinctive trees on the [[savannah]], in the [[scrubland|scrub]], and near settled areas, with some large individuals living to well over a thousand years of age.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Varmah |first= J. C. |last2= Vaid |first2= K. M. |title= Baobab - the historic African tree at Allahbad |journal= Indian Forester |volume= 104 |issue= 7 |year= 1978 |pages= 461–464}}</ref>

| growth_habit = tree

The tree bears very large, heavy white flowers. The showy flowers are pendulous with a very large number of stamens. They carry a [[carrion]] scent and researchers have shown they appear to be primarily pollinated by [[fruit bat]]s of the subfamily [[Pteropodinae]]. The fruits are filled with pulp that dries, hardens, and falls to pieces which look like chunks of powdery, dry bread.<ref>{{cite book |authorlink= |author=National Research Council |editor= |others= |title=Lost Crops of Africa: Volume III: Fruits |origdate= |url=http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11879 |format= |accessdate=July 15, 2008 |edition= |series=Lost Crops of Africa |volume=3 |date=January 25, 2008 |publisher=[[National Academies Press]] |location= |isbn=978-0-309-10596-5 |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages= |chapter=Baobab |chapterurl=http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11879&page=41 |quote= |ref= }}</ref>

| high = ?  <!--- 1m (3 ft) -->

 

| wide =     <!--- 65cm (25 inches) -->

| origin = ?  <!--- Mexico, S America, S Europe, garden, etc -->

| poisonous =     <!--- indicate parts of plants which are known/thought to be poisonous -->

| lifespan =    <!--- perennial, annual, etc -->

| exposure = ?  <!--- full sun, part-sun, semi-shade, shade, indoors, bright filtered (you may list more than 1) -->

| water = ?  <!--- frequent, regular, moderate, drought tolerant, let dry then soak -->

| features =     <!--- flowers, fragrance, fruit, naturalizes, invasive -->

| hardiness =     <!--- frost sensitive, hardy, 5°C (40°F), etc -->

| bloom =     <!--- seasons which the plant blooms, if it is grown for its flowers -->

| usda_zones = ?   <!--- eg. 8-11 -->

| sunset_zones =     <!--- eg. 8, 9, 12-24, not available -->

| color = IndianRed

| image = Baobab and elephant, Tanzania .jpg

| image_width = 240px    <!--- leave as 240px if horizontal orientation photo, or change to 180px if vertical -->

| image_caption = Baobab tree in Tanzania

| regnum = Plantae

| divisio = Magnoliophyta

| classis = Magnoliopsida

| ordo = Malvales

| familia = Malvaceae

| genus = Adansonia

| species = digitata

| subspecies =  

| cultivar =  

}}

{{Inc|

{{Inc|

[[Adansonia]] digitata, Linn. Baobab Tree. Figs. 118, 119. Height not more than 60 ft.: diam. said to be sometimes 30 ft. or more and to have the thickest trunk of any tree in the world: lvs. palmate, with 3 lfts. in young plants, and 5-7 in older ones: fls. 6 in. across, with purplish anthers, on long axillary, solitary peduncles; stigma 7-10-rayed in full anthesis. Afr. B.M. 2791- 2792. G.C. III. 27:57.—Rarely cult, in extreme S. Fla., where fr. is 9-12 in. long, and called "monkey's bread." Figs. 118 and 119 are from specimens growing in the American tropics. The fl. opens wide, something like a spreading hibiscus, and the petals soon roll back and wither, as shown in Fig. 119. The tree is very thick-boled, and the wood is soft and light. The tree is supposed to attain to vast age. The fr. of the baobab is a gourd-like structure, of which the pulp is said sometimes to be eaten and the juice used for the making of a beverage. The bark produces a very strong fiber.{{SCH}}

[[Adansonia]] digitata, Linn. Baobab Tree. Height not more than 60 ft.: diam. said to be sometimes 30 ft. or more and to have the thickest trunk of any tree in the world: lvs. palmate, with 3 lfts. in young plants, and 5-7 in older ones: fls. 6 in. across, with purplish anthers, on long axillary, solitary peduncles; stigma 7-10-rayed in full anthesis. Afr.—Rarely cult, in extreme S. Fla., where fr. is 9-12 in. long, and called "monkey's bread." Figs. 118 and 119 are from specimens growing in the American tropics. The fl. opens wide, something like a spreading hibiscus, and the petals soon roll back and wither. The tree is very thick-boled, and the wood is soft and light. The tree is supposed to attain to vast age. The fr. of the baobab is a gourd-like structure, of which the pulp is said sometimes to be eaten and the juice used for the making of a beverage. The bark produces a very strong fiber.{{SCH}}

}}

}}

Image:thos baines00.jpg|<center>Baobab Tree by [[Thomas Baines]]</center>

Image:thos baines00.jpg|<center>Baobab Tree by [[Thomas Baines]]</center>

Image:Adansonia digitata 20050823 flower.gif|<center>Baobab flower</center>

Image:Adansonia digitata 20050823 flower.gif|<center>Baobab flower</center>

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