African Baobab

Adansonia digitata, the African baobab, is the most widespread tree species of the baobab genus Adansonia and is native to the African continent and the southern Arabian Peninsula. It is a long-lived pachycaul, with radiocarbon dating having shown at least one individual to be 1,275 years old, and it is typically found in the dry, hot savannas of sub-Saharan Africa, where it dominates the landscape and can reveal the presence of a watercourse from a distance. The tree has traditionally been valued as a source of food, water and health remedies and as a place of shelter, and it is a key food source for many animals, while also being steeped in local legend and superstition. In recent years many of the largest, oldest baobabs have died for reasons that remain unknown.