Adansonia

For the most common use of "Baobab", see Adansonia digitata.
"Baobab" and "Upside-down tree" redirect here. For the tree in Hyde Park, see Fagus sylvatica § Cultivation. For other use, see Baobab (disambiguation).

Adansonia
Adansonia digitata in Tanzania
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Subfamily: Bombacoideae
Genus: Adansonia
L.[1]
Species

See species section

Adansonia is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs (/ˈbaʊbæb/ or /ˈbeɪoʊbæb/) or adansonias. They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.[2] The trees have also been introduced to other regions such as Asia.[3] A genomic and ecological analysis has suggested that the genus is Madagascan in origin.[4]

The generic name honours Michel Adanson, the French naturalist and explorer who described Adansonia digitata.[5] The baobab is also known as the "upside down tree", a name that originates from several myths.[6] They are among the most long-lived of vascular plants[7] and have large flowers that are reproductive for a maximum of 15 hours.[8] The flowers open around dusk, opening so quickly that movement can be detected by the naked eye, and are faded by the next morning.[8] The fruits are large, oval to round and berry-like and hold kidney-shaped seeds in a dry, pulpy matrix.

In the early 21st century, baobabs in southern Africa began to die off rapidly from a cause yet to be determined. It is unlikely that disease or pests would be able to kill many trees so rapidly, and some have speculated that the die-off is a result of dehydration.[9][10]

  1. ^ "Genus: Adansonia L." Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 12 November 2008. Archived from the original on 30 May 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  2. ^ Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 8 Jul 2020 http://www.tropicos.org Archived 23 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "The Baobab: Fun Facts About Africa's Tree of Life". ThoughtCo.
  4. ^ Wan, Jun-Nan; Wang, Sheng-Wei; Leitch, Andrew R.; Leitch, Ilia J.; Jian, Jian-Bo; et al. (2024). "The rise of baobab trees in Madagascar". Nature. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07447-4. PMC 11136661.
  5. ^ Eggli, U.; Newton, L.E. (2004). Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 3. ISBN 978-3-540-00489-9. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  6. ^ Wickens, G.E.; Lowe, P. (2008). The Baobabs: Pachycauls of Africa, Madagascar and Australia. Springer Verlag. ISBN 978-1-4020-6430-2. OCLC 166358049.
  7. ^ Patrut A, Woodborne S, Patrut RT, Rakosy L, Lowy DA, Hall G, von Reden KF (July 2018). "The demise of the largest and oldest African baobabs". Nature Plants. 4 (7): 423–426. doi:10.1038/s41477-018-0170-5. hdl:2263/65292. PMID 29892092. S2CID 47017569.
  8. ^ a b Baum, David A. (1995). "A Systematic Revision of Adansonia (Bombacaceae)". Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 82 (3): 440–471. doi:10.2307/2399893. ISSN 0026-6493. JSTOR 2399893.
  9. ^ Yong, Ed (11 June 2018). "Trees That Have Lived for Millennia Are Suddenly Dying". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  10. ^ Nuwer, Rachel (12 June 2018). "Last March of the 'Wooden Elephants': Africa's Ancient Baobabs Are Dying". The New York Times.