Tis Flowering Season!

Tis the season to be flowering and what jolly big flowers they are too!  The flowers are the size of a saucer, measuring up to 15cm across.  They have delicate white waxy petals which pull up like a lady's skirt when curtseying for the queen!  They open as the sun sets and within 20 minutes are fully dilated, so you can literally watch them as they open. The blossoms stay alive for just 24 hours so by the time the sun sets the next day the flowers are spent. Baobabs in South Africa flower have their peak flowering season in November and range in number from 10 flowers per tree to up to a thousand flowers per tree at a time!  Dr. Sarah Venter has spent two years studying the flowering baobabs making notes on variation between seasons, trees and landscapes in which the trees occur.  But aren't they just exquisitely beautiful?

Continue reading....

Find more interesting articles below

World Water Day: when in drought, consult a baobab tree!

World Water Day: when in drought, consult a baobab tree!

As some of hardiest, long-lived trees around, Baobabs know how to make the most of scarce resources, especially water. On World Water Day, when we’re bringing awareness to one of our Earth’s most precious resources, what lessons can we learn from Baobabs?

Read more
Calling the community

Calling the community

I was visiting a village in Venda the other day and needed to talk to the community about when I would be collecting baobab fruit.  During the day people are scattered and busy with other chores so it’s difficult to get to speak to everybody at the same time.  The headman’s wife was so excited […]

Read more
Baobab Pollination Research with WITS University

Baobab Pollination Research with WITS University

It is baobab flowering time again giving us the chance to continue our research into the ecology and pollination of the baobab flower.

Read more