The African baobab (Adansonia), known as the tree of life, can live for more than1000 years. It is found in Deciduous forests. It yields fodder, medicinal compounds, and many such products. A recent study in scientific reports finally finds that the tree has 168 chromosomes. This study will be useful in genetic conservation efforts.
ANCIENT BAOBAB TREE-more than 2000 years old
FEATURES OF BAOBAB TREE
- Baobabs are deciduous trees ranging in height from 5 to 20 meters. The Baobab tree is a strange-looking tree that grows in low-lying areas in Africa and Australia.
- Baobab trees can grow to enormous sizes and carbon dating indicates that they may live to be 3,000 years old.
- Baobab trees have two types of shoots—long, green vegetative ones, and stout, woody reproductive ones.
- Adansonia rubrostipa is the only baobab that sometimes has spines.
- The tree is certainly very different from any other. The trunk is smooth and shiny, not at all like the bark of other trees, and it is pinkish grey or sometimes copper-colored.
An old Baobab tree can create its own ecosystem, as it supports the life of countless creatures, from the largest of mammals to the thousands of tiny creatures scurrying in and out of its crevices.
USES
Fiber from the bark is used to make rope, baskets, cloth, musical instrument strings, and waterproof hats.
Fresh baobab leaves provide an edible vegetable similar to spinach which is also used medicinally to treat kidney and bladder disease, asthma, insect bites, and several other maladies.
GEOGRAPHICALLY LOCATION
Baobabs are widely distributed in belts across Africa. They also grow in Madagascar, India, Ceylon, and Australia. They grow in many areas of Zimbabwe.
