The baobabs (Adansonia) are a genus of eight species of trees, native to Madagascar (the centre of diversity, with six species), and Africa and Australia (one species in each). 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. 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.
Adansonia gregorii, commonly known as boab, is a tree in the family Malvaceae.
Boab is deciduous, losing its leaves during the dry winter period and producing new leaves and large white flowers in late spring.
A large hollow boab just south of Derby, Western Australia is reputed to have been used in the 1890s as a lockup for Aboriginal prisoners on their way to Derby for sentencing.
Feeds |
Contact