Know your Trees: The Baobab.

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The abundance and diversity of trees in Africa is often commented upon by visiting hunters. When quizzed about the names and uses of the various trees some professional hunters, tongue in cheek, reply by saying that there are only three types of trees that one needs to know about. These are trees that are good for hanging lion and leopard baits in; shade trees that are good for taking a siesta under; and firewood trees.

With more prompting most professional hunters have a wealth of knowledge about the flora in their area and can relate amazingly interesting facts, stories and folklore about them.

Let’s take a look at some of the trees that hunters in Southern Africa will regularly come across.

Undoubtedly the most obvious and frequently discussed tree is the baobab (adansonia digitata ). It’s prehistoric appearance provides for one of the most dramatic landscapes Africa has to offer. They are said to be the oldest living relic of ancient times, possibly around before the birth of Christ. The name baobab derives from the Egyptian name ‘Bu hobab’, given to it by Cairo traders in the 16th Century. Dr David Livingstone referred to the baobab as ‘that giant upturned carrot’, an apt description. It also reminds one of the root system of a tree, hence the colloquial term of the ‘upside down tree’.

The average diameter of a mature baobab is about 5 meters, but specimens of 9 meters are not uncommon. One of the largest baobabs in Southern Africa has a circumference of 46.8 meters.

The pinkish-gray bark, the finger-like leaves, the large ovoid pods and the magnificent white flowers are other outstanding features.

On poor, shallow soil, thick roots radiate from the trunk and are sometimes visible above the ground as much as 10 meters from the tree. Young trees are nearly impossible to recognize, as they look nothing like the tree that they become.

The baobab’s monstrous size, unsightly shape and incredible life span has made it a focus of native folklore and spiritualism. According to the people native of the Zambezi valley spirits inhabit the white flowers and myth has it that lions will devour anyone who plucks a bloom.

African women in Zambia are forbidden to eat the fruit during the beer-brewing process, as it is believed that this will cause the beer to go bad.
It is believed in East Africa that the lord of rain, ‘Resa’, resides in the upper most branches of an enormous baobab in order to support the sky.

The Bushmen of the Kalahari believe that there are no young baobab trees, and that fully developed specimens are flung from paradise. Being top heavy, they land with their roots in the air. The authenticity of this belief is supported by their claims that thuds of falling baobabs are clearly heard from time to time.

Another Bushman legend concerning this is that in the beginning seeds and plants were distributed by the gods to the animals of the world to cultivate. The baobab was given to the hyena, which was the very last in the queue, and he was so upset that he planted it upside down.

Baobab trunks are often hollow, caused by the dying off of heartwood and the complete healing of the inner surface. These hollow trunks afford the collection and storage of water for lengthy periods. These reservoirs are, unfortunately, conducive to the breeding of mosquitoes, but they attract interesting nocturnal visitors like genets and leopards.

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