The Baobab Of Bandra

The Baobab Of Bandra, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Baobab is the common name of a genus (Adansonia) containing eight species of trees, native to Madagascar (having six species), mainland Africa and Australia (one species in each).This tree is the National Tree of Madagascar.

Other common names include boab, boaboa, bottle tree,the tree of life, upside-down tree, and monkey bread tree. The species reach heights of 5 to 30 metres (16 to 98 ft) and trunk diameters of 7 to 11 metres (23 to 36 ft). It's trunk can hold up to 120,000 litres of water.

The Baobab Tree is also known as the tree of life, with good reason too. It is capable of providing shelter,clothing, food, and water for the animal as well as human inhabitants of the African Savannah regions. The cork-like bark or huge stem is fire resistant and is used for making cloth and rope. The leaves are used as condiments and medicines. The fruit, called "monkey bread", is rich in vitamin C and is eaten. The tree is capable of storing hundreds of litres of water, which is tapped in dry periods.[source?] Mature trees are frequently hollow, providing living space for numerous animals and humans alike.[source?] Trees are even used as bars, barns, wine and beer shops and more.[source?] Radio-carbon dating has measured that age of some Baobab trees at over 2,000 years old. For most of the year, the tree is leafless, and looks very much like it has its roots sticking up in the air.
[change] Legends

There are numerous legends offering explanations of how the tree came to be stuffed in the ground upside down, so it could no longer complain. Some of the myths are:

The Bushmen believed that goings-on in the baobab so offended God that in his wrath he uprooted it and cast it back into the earth upside-down.

It is said that if you drink its delectable sap you will receive protection from the crafty crocodile; but do not pluck its flowers, for whosoever does so will be torn apart by lions!

It is also claimed that on the day of creation, each animal was given a tree to plant and that the hyena planted the baobab upside-down and, as a result, it should never have grown. But grow it did, and today baobabs dot the Limpopo landscape, in Africa.