The tree that doesn’t die

Baobabs are very difficult to kill, they can be burnt, or stripped of their bark, and they will just form new bark and carry on growing. When they do die, they simply rot from the inside and suddenly collapse, leaving a heap of fibres, which makes many people think that they don't die at all, but simply disappear! A Baby Baobab tree looks very different from its adult form and this is why the Bushmen believe that it doesn't grow like other trees, but suddenly crashes to the ground with a thump, fully grown, and then one day simply disappears. No wonder they are thought of as magic trees! 

Continue reading....

Find more interesting articles below

Baobab Fruit Monitoring

Baobab Fruit Monitoring

Every year in February or March, I go out with a small team to do baobab fruit monitoring.  This is our 10th year!  It’s is a good time of year to do this because while most of the fruit have reached their full size, they have not matured (dried out) enough and have not yet fallen  off the […]

Read more
Fine Art Baobab Inspirations

Fine Art Baobab Inspirations

Heike Pander, a German artist who paints baobabs,  visited me over the weekend.  She is passionate about baobabs and will be exhibiting some of her baobab art along with her other paintings later on in the year in Germany. She says “my enthusiasm for the marvelous and enthralling nature of Africa has grown steadily. I am not […]

Read more
The real truth about water in baobab trees

The real truth about water in baobab trees

  There’s a bit of a myth out there that you can tap water out of a baobab which is illustrated by this delightful cartoon. The truth is that a freshly felled baobab trunk weighs about 850kg per cubic meter.  Once dried out, it weighs 200kg per cubic meter.  This means that baobabs are able […]

Read more