HOW ANCIENT ARE BAOBAB TREES REALLY?

Written by on April 28, 2013. Posted in ECOPRODUCTS: HOW WE WORK

I often get asked how old baobabs become. There is a lot of myth with most people believing that they live for up to 5000 years. I have been working with Dr Adrian Patrut, who has made it his mission to find the oldest baobab in the world. He has been at this for about 10 years, sampling trees all over Africa and publishing his results in Scientific Journals. So far the oldest tree dated was the multi-stemmed Glencoe Tree near Hoedspruit that was dated to 1800 years old.(see pic).  In Venda people often say that they live forever. I like to believe they do.

Continue reading....

Find more interesting articles below

2015 May: EcoProducts Foundation: pre-school programme

2015 May: EcoProducts Foundation: pre-school programme

Thank you to all of you who have been so supportive of the launch of the EcoProducts Foundation. All your shares, likes and comments help spread the word and have been so encouraging to us.  We’d like to tell you a little more about one of our programmes, Baobab Pre-school. Like most mothers, Venda women […]

Read more
Interesting baobab tree roots

Interesting baobab tree roots

On my field trip a few weeks back we went into northern Venda which was very badly struck by the recent floods. Many roads were washed away and people's houses damaged. I came across this uprooted baobab. It was in a sandy area so when the floods washed around its roots it just toppled over! […]

Read more
Baobab fruit season

Baobab fruit season

February is a wonderful time to see growing baobab fruit.  They emerge from their showy white flowers in December and take six months to grow into our superfruit. In February they are still growing and the fruit are soft and green.  The inside of the fruit is wet and pulpy, providing an ideal environment for […]

Read more