Baobab

Baobab
Bombacaceae
Adansonia digitata
Common Names
Baobab, monkey-bread tree, dead-rat tree, cream-of-tartar tree (En); calebassier du
Sénégal, arbre de mille ans, pain de singe (Fr); baobab, árbol botella (Sp); 猢猻木 (Cn)
Plant Distribution
Tropical Africa, Indian Ocean islands, Arabian Peninsula
Botanical Features
Deciduous tree to 20-25 m; trunk stout to 10 m in diameter, branches short, leafy at the
ends; leaves palmately compound; petiole up to 16 cm long; leaflets 5-7, oblong, to 15
cm, acuminate, entire, sessile or shortly stalked; flowers on long peduncles to 20 cm
in diameter, white; fruit woody, indehiscent capsules, globular to egg-shaped or
cylindrical, 10-30 cm, many-seeded; seeds 1.5 x 1.0 cm, smooth, dark brown to black,
with thick seed coat; hypogeal germination.
Growth form
44
Environmental Factors
Light requirement: full sun; photoperiod: day-neutral; temperature requirement: hot;
preferred soil type: sandy; tolerance: acid and calcareous soils, drought, heat,
flooding; sensitivity: frost.
10day-old seedlings
Leaves
45
Production Methods
System: container planting, sapling nursery, individual tree; planting material: seed
pretreated with boiling water for 6 minutes or sulfuric acid for 8 hours, stem cutting;
planting method: direct with seed, transplanting with cutting; irrigation: moderate;
crop management: free standing, trimming to encourage leaf production; planting to
1 st harvest: 50-70 days for leaves; harvesting: repeated removal of leaves on 50-cm
saplings.
Flower
Fruit
Tender shoots
46
Edible Parts
Young leaves and tender shoots are eaten raw, boiled or stir-fried, or dried and
powdered to thicken soup and sauce. Flowers are also eaten raw, and seeds raw or
roasted to thicken soup, or fermented.
Health Values
Beta-carotene: medium; vitamin E: medium; riboflavin: medium; folic acid: medium;
ascorbic acid: extremely high; calcium: high; iron: medium; protein: 3.6%. Leaves
contain mucilage, and older leaves develop tannins.
Seeds
Field production
47