The Phyto-Philes: Baobab Tree, Part Two
Created | Updated Oct 7, 2012
Baobab Tree, Part Two
Willem says: 'The Phyto-Philes are for plant lovers of every size and shape, colour and flavour. As with my Colours of Wildlife column, I'll be featuring one species per article, illustrated with sketches, paintings, and/or photos. Over time I hope to be showcasing the amazing diversity of weird and wonderful plants that occur in South Africa, while also from time to time looking at the flora of other countries. While featuring many spectacular species, I'll not be neglecting the smaller, more humble kinds that are nevertheless fascinating in their own right.'
Baobabs are very popular painting subjects, so I've painted and sketched them many times … these are just a few of my works depicting them. But I do more than that, I also grow them! Although they are considered very slow-growing, with good care they can reach a height of 2 m/almost 7 ft in three to five years, with the trunks already markedly thickened. Seeds can be had over here from a number of specialized South African indigenous seed sellers, such as Silverhill Seeds. Baobab seeds are kidney-bean sized and shaped. They need to be scratched (I use coarse sandpaper) prior to planting to weaken the hard seed coating. In such cases they germinate readily. They need warm conditions for growing and moderate but not excessive water. They are in effect giant succulent plants, storing water in their trunks and bark. Too much water causes their trunks to rupture and rot. The deaths of very large specimens might be caused by this … the trees seem to rapidly disintegrate into a huge pile of fibrous shreds. But they can absorb quite a large amount of water prior to this point. Indeed, after a year of good rainfall a big baobab tree's trunk can expand in diameter by half a meter or more.
But young plants should never be over-watered, since they can still succumb to fungal infections. Planted out in well-drained soil and in a warm and sunny position, Baobab saplings grow well in natural rainfall of up to 1 000 mm (40") a year. They prefer a dry winter, though, during which they will lose their leaves. They are very sensitive to frost. A fifty-year-old baobab that has been taken good care of will already be a large, thick and impressive tree. Sadly I see here in my home town of Polokwane that people are still clueless when it comes to baobabs. Many, many had been planted at the huge casino complex, Meropa, just outside of town several years ago … they looked to me like big trees that had been uprooted and re-planted … none of them are left now. I suspect they had been overwatered. Then I also see today baobabs that have been planted on the grounds of shopping malls, leaving insufficient room for the trunks to expand. I can't believe people would plant a BAOBAB TREE without realizing the thing is ultimately going to become very big and stout, destroying the pavement and parking area surrounding its presently tiny little bed, and in some cases even endangering nearby buildings. It's like that story of the Little Prince's little planet being taken over by the baobabs, except in this case they're planting them deliberately. Sigh. They’re well-intentioned, in wanting to promote this wonderful tree species, but can't they do it with intelligent research and planning? If you're going to go to the trouble of buying and planting a baobab (and paying a pretty penny for the privilege), then think long term and give it room to grow … unless you want even more money to be spent having the thing removed again a decade or two or three later.
Another interesting thing is that the leaves of young trees look quite different from those of adults. Because of this there seems to have arisen a superstition that there are no baby baobabs, that somehow the trees spring into being fully grown. Or in less 'superstitious' people, the idea that baobabs are doomed because they're not regenerating … there are no new seedlings growing. Indeed, I know how the young trees look and I can assure everybody that indeed there are many young trees in the wild. And growing them of course I know how they start out. Young baobabs have single, undivided leaves. At an age of anywhere from two to ten or more years the leaves change into the adult form: these have the leaf divided into five leaflets joined at the base, like the five fingers of a human hand. The scientific name digitata (like digits) refers to this. Young baobabs are comparatively slender, but the trunk tapers from a fairly thick base down to the thin tip.
I should perhaps mention that there are indeed some baobab trees growing in my town that are doing quite well. There's a very big one at the 'Welcome to Polokwane' sign where the main highway from Pretoria enters the town. There are some at my old high school, there's one at a military base, there are a few in private gardens. At the University of Limpopo there are a few large specimens planted on the lawn outside the library. These are all quite big, many decades old and they have enough room for growing bigger still.
An option for people who do not have the room, is to grow Bonsai-baobabs! These need the same kind of conditions – frost protection, enough sunlight and dry Winters – but of course the other demands are much less. Their trunks and branches can easily be shaped, and the leaves miniaturise satisfactorily.
Finally let me speak of the evolution of Baobabs. None of the entries I've linked at the start really go into that. These trees are presently classified in the Malvaceae or Mallow family. This family also contains the beautiful flowering Hibiscus shrubs and trees, and commercially important plants such as cocoa, cotton and okra. Apart from this the family includes a vast diversity of other species, most being herbs and shrubs, but a few reaching tree size, the Baobabs being some of the largest. But the Kapok or Silk Cotton Trees of tropical rainforests can also become huge. Baobabs are associated with Africa, and the Edited Entry mentions them in Australia as well, but actually the group as a whole originated on the large island of Madagascar. Six different species grow there, including the magnificent Adansonia grandidieri which can reach a height of 35 m/113 ft. It is believed that many millions of years ago, fruits from Madagascan baobabs washed up on an African shore, landed in a place where they could germinate, and so started to colonize the continent, over time evolving into a distinctive species. The Australian Boab, Adansonia gregorii, might have landed there in a similar way. Hollow boab trees in Australia have been used as prisons!
