Baobab Tree
The most common tree in South-Africa
Where did the Baobab tree originate?
In South Africa, the Baobab tree is the most prevalent and well-known tree. The name Baobab [Adansonia digitata] was given by tribes around the Zambezi River.
Other names for this tree include boab, boaboa, tabaldi, bottle tree, and monkey bread tree. The upside-down tree is another name for the Baobab Tree.
The god Thora is mentioned in an African bushman mythology. He disliked the Baobab growing in his garden, so he flung it over the wall of Paradise onto Earth below, and despite landing upside-down, the tree continued to grow.
It’s not unexpected that such a strange-looking tree is associated with superstitions.
Where do you find these trees?
Baobabs may be found in Africa’s belts. Madagascar, India, Sri Lanka, and Australia are also home to them.
Boab trees can be found across Zimbabwe. They are located in the Northern Province, between the Limpopo and Zoutpansberg mountain ranges. Messina is, in fact, a city of Baobabs.
There is a well-known ‘halfway Baobab’ between Louis Trichardt and Messina from which many have drawn. This tree seem to prefer hot, sandy plains.
What makes Boabab trees so special?
For good cause, the baobab tree is renowned as the “tree of life.” It can offer animal and human occupants of the African savannah regions with shelter, clothes, food, and water.
The cork-like bark and massive stem are resistant to fire and are used to make linen and rope.
What does a Boab tree look like?
Baobabs are small to big deciduous trees with broad trunks and compact crowns that live for a long time. Young trees have slender, tapered trunks that are often swollen at the base.
The trunk is formed of concentric rings of fibrous wood. They have distinctive barrel-like trunks and are well-known for their exceptional longevity and ethnobotanical significance. According to an Arabian tradition, “the devil plucked up the baobab, thrust its branches into the earth, and left its roots in the air.”
When to trim a Baobab tree?
Pruning causes the bulbous trunk form to develop faster than if it is not pruned. The best time to prune your baobab is towards the end of summer, when there are still plenty of leaves on the branches. The leaves aid the baobab in drawing water from the pot.
Randburg Tree Fellers other tree services include:
- Tree trimming
- Shrub pruning
- Stump removal
- Rubble removal
- Tree Care
- Seasonal pruning