Ancient baobabs in Madagascar have unlocked a 700-year rainfall record that is set to help scientists figure out how to adapt to climate change.
Articles on Baobab tree
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A beetle that lays eggs inside the bark of trees has killed six baobab trees in Oman for the first time. Urgent measures are needed to stop it spreading to Africa.
New research shows that baobab tree flowers have adapted to meet the needs of either bats or moths, and without these creatures, the trees will not survive.
New research has found that Swahili societies in Zanzibar landscaped baobab trees into their settlements over 1,000 years ago, and continue caring for them today.
Africa’s indigenous foods may hold the key to a healthier, more sustainable future – if we choose to value them.
Where families struggle to cultivate crops on shrinking plots, the baobab is increasingly seen as a competitor vying for space and nutrients.
Baobabs have been a source of food, fibre and medicine in Africa for centuries.
New research has found that the world’s baobab trees all evolved on Madagascar 21 million years ago. Sometime in the last 12 million years, they floated on piles of debris to Australia and Africa.
Top contributors
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Baobab Ecologist, University of the Witwatersrand
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Ethnobotanist, National Museums of Kenya
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Associate professor, Global Change Institute, University of the Witwatersrand
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Assistant Professor, Konkuk University
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Researcher at the University of Pretoria, University of Pretoria
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Associate lecturer, University of Limpopo
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Archaeologist, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University
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Associate Professor Plant conservation unit, University of Cape Town
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Visiting Scientist, Humboldt University of Berlin
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Professor of Plant Genetics and Co-director of MSc Plant and Fungal Taxonomy Diversity, Queen Mary University of London
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Junior Research Fellow, University of Cape Town
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Professor, Department of Biodiversity, University of Limpopo