Author: |
Carl Linnaeus, 1759 |
Family: |
BOMBACACEAE* |
Origin: |
Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Cameroon, Central African
Republic, Chad, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana,
Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast,
Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger,
Nigeria, Oman, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa,
Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, Zaïre,
Zimbabwe (Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Madagascar, Mozambique
Channel I, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Oman) |
Soil: |
Grit - Mix |
Water:
|
Maximum |
Sun: |
Maximum |
Thickness: |
15-20
Meters |
Height: |
22
Meters |
Flower:
|
White |
Propagate: |
Seeds/Cuttings |
Names:
|
Baobab, Cream of Tartar Tree, Monkey-bread Tree, Lemonade Tree |
Synonyms: |
Adansonia bahobab, L.
Adansonia baobab, Gaertn.
Adansonia integrifolia, Raf.
Adansonia kilima, Pettigrew, K.L.Bell, Bhagw., Grinan,
Jillani, Jean Mey., Wab
Adansonia scutula, Steud.
Adansonia situla, Spreng.
Adansonia somalensis, Chiov.
Adansonia sphaerocarpa, A.Chev.
Adansonia sulcata, A.Chev.
Baobabus digitata, Kuntze
Ophelus sitularius, Lour. |
The big and beautiful tree-like
succulent appears
in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Cameroon, Central African
Republic, Chad, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mali,
Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Senegal,
Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda,
Yemen, Zambia, Zaïre and Zimbabwe (and is brought around by Arab traders to i.e. Madagascar
and Oman). It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1759. It belongs to the Bombacaceae*
family. The trunk will get from 15 to 20 meter wide and the tree up to 22
meters high. It can be reproduced by cuttings and seeds. Grows best in
a well drained soil, some water and sun in summer and dry in winter.
Seeds have been brought by Arab traders to Madagascar,
Sri Lanka
and Oman, where around 100, up to 2000 years old trees can be found
in Dhofar. Those plants have done fine so fare up north, and the
biggest have reached ten meters in diameter!
There are 6-10 species of Adansonias on Madagascar, one in the South
Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and one in
the Kimberley region (Northern and Western Territory), Australia.
The genera is named after the French naturalist Michel Adanson,1727-1806, and
digitata meaning hand-like, is in reference to the shape of the
leafs.
It has gourd/egg-formed green fruits, which can be 12 cm long, with
several seeds in a vitamin C hard-foam.
*)Accordantly to the latest taxonomic system; APG
IV 2016,
Bombacaceae
is
now part of the Malvaceae.
|