Showing posts with label Adansonia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adansonia. Show all posts

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Adansonia grandidieri - Grandidier's baobab


General Information
Common Name Grandidier's Baobab
Scientific Name Adansonia grandidieri
Sun Tolerance Full Sun
Height 25-30 m (80-100 ft)
Spread up to 15 m (up to 50 ft)
Growth Rate Moderate
Bloom Time Spring
Color Green
Flower Color White
Type Tree
Native Africa
Classification
Kingdom Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
SuperdivisionSpermatophyta – Seed plants
Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass Dilleniidae
Order Malvales
Family Bombacaceae – Kapok-tree family
Genus Adansonia L. – adansonia
Species A. grandidieri


Adansonia grandidieri - Grandidier's baobab


Adansonia grandidieri common name is Grandidier's baobab. This is the biggest and most famous species of baobabs. This is also a long living tree like other species of baobabs. Grandidier's baobabs have massive cylindrical trunks. Grandidier's baobab used to inhabit dry, deciduous forest, especially near seasonal rivers or lakes. However, today it is mainly found in open, agricultural land or degraded scrubland.  The trunks store considerable water, as much as 1000 gallons have been tapped from one. The tree grows up to three meters across, covered with smooth, reddish-grey bark. They can reach 25 to 30 m (80-100 ft) in height. 
Adansonia grandidieri - Grandidier's baobab
At certain times of the year the flat-topped crowns bear bluish-green palmate leaves.  At fall, the leaves will slowly begin to fall and at the end of December the Baobab will be completely dormant. When the tree is bare of leaves the branches look like roots sticking up, making it look as though it has been planted upside down. It blooms white flowers in mid spring. The seeds and the fruits pulp are also source of rich vitamin C like other Baobab, and cooking oil is extracted from the oil-rich seeds. The fruit is either collected from the ground, or wooden pegs are hammered into the trunk so the tree can be climbed to collect the fruit.
Adansonia grandidieri - Grandidier's baobab


Adansonia grandidieri - Grandidier's baobab : Flower

Adansonia grandidieri - Grandidier's baobab : Flower


Adansonia grandidieri - Grandidier's baobab : Flower

Adansonia grandidieri - Grandidier's baobab : Seed

Adansonia grandidieri - Grandidier's baobab : Young Plant

Adansonia grandidieri - Grandidier's baobab

Adansonia grandidieri - Grandidier's baobab

Adansonia grandidieri - Grandidier's baobab

Adansonia grandidieri - Grandidier's baobab

Adansonia grandidieri - Grandidier's baobab

Adansonia grandidieri - Grandidier's baobab

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Adansonia digitata - Baobab


General Information
Common Name Baobab
Scientific Name Adansonia digitata
Sun Tolerance Full Sun
Height 10–25 m (33–80 ft)
Spread up to 15 m (up to 50 ft)
Growth Rate Moderate 
Bloom Time Winter
Color Green
Flower Color White
Type Tree
Native Africa
Classification
Kingdom Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
SuperdivisionSpermatophyta – Seed plants
Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass Dilleniidae
Order Malvales
Family Bombacaceae – Kapok-tree family
Genus Adansonia L. – adansonia
Species A. digitata

Adansonia digitata - Baobab
Adansonia digitata common name is Baobab. Baobab is mainly native to Africa is associated with rainfall patterns of the Atlantic coast counties. It is very limited in Central Africa, and it is found only in the very north of Southern Africa. In Eastern Africa, the trees grow also in shrublands and on the coast. In Angola and Namibia, the baobabs grow in woodlands. It is also found in Dhofar region of Oman and Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula, Asia. This tree is also found in India, particularly in the dry regions of the country.
This is a large and distinctive tree. It grows up to 25m (80 ft). It is also a long living tree, some large individuals living to well over a thousand years of age. Leaves borne at the ends of branches, they are usually divided into 5‒7 leaflets attached to a central point. The tree bears very large, heavy, white flowers. The showy flowers are pendulous with a very large number of stamens. The fruits grow up to 35 cm long and 13 cm wide. They are filled with pulp that dries, hardens, and falls to pieces which look like chunks of powdery, dry bread. This is an important indigenous fruit tree, the fruit pulp (rich in vitamin C) is eaten on its own or mixed in porridge and is also used for making soft drinks. Seeds are used as a thickener for soups, and leaves are eaten as a vegetable or in soups.


Adansonia digitata - Baobab

Adansonia digitata - Baobab : Flower

Adansonia digitata - Baobab : Fruits

Adansonia digitata - Baobab : Fruit

Adansonia digitata - Baobab

Adansonia digitata - Baobab

Adansonia digitata - Baobab

Adansonia digitata - Baobab

Adansonia digitata - Baobab

Adansonia digitata - Baobab

Adansonia digitata - Baobab

Adansonia digitata - Baobab

Adansonia digitata - Baobab

Adansonia digitata - Baobab