Baobab is the common name of a
genus (Adansonia) containing eight species of
trees, native to
Madagascar (the centre of diversity, with six species), mainland
Africa and
Australia (one species in each). The mainland African species also occurs on the island of Madagascar, but it is not a native of that country. Other common names include boab, boaboa, bottle tree and monkey bread tree. The species reach heights of between 5–25 m (exceptionally 30 m) tall, and up to 7 m (exceptionally 11 m) in trunk diameter. They are noted for storing
water inside the swollen trunk, with the capacity to store up to 120,000 litres of water to endure the harsh drought conditions particular to each region
[1]. All occur in seasonally
arid areas, and are
deciduous, shedding their
leaves during the dry season. Some are reputed to be many thousands of years old, though as the
wood does not produce annual
growth rings, this is impossible to verify; few
botanists give any credence to these claims of extreme age.
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