Aah, the mighty baobab tree… One of the treats of any stay in The Gambia is the unforgettable sight of a baobab tree, crazed and incongrous against the bright blue of the sky or the low hum of a scorched-sky sunset. On first sighting – with its squat body, leathery pachyderm bark, and Gorgon crown of roots – it was so utterly different to any other tree I’d ever seen, it held my gaze, drew me over to it. I stood beneath the gravid green of its pendulous fruit and thought, ‘now I understand why this tree is held in such esteem…’
There are actually eight species of Baobab, only one of which occurs naturally in The Gambia – the huge African Baobab. Of the 7 other species, 6 occur only on the island of Madagascar and another, the Boab, occurs only in northwestern Australia. The tree can grow to extraordinary dimensions (there is one African Baobab in South Africa that is an astonishing 47 metres round the fattest part of its trunk) and can live for millenia, though measuring an individual tree’s age is made difficult by the fact that the wood doesn’t produce annual growth rings. Radiocarbon dating has been used however, and that same South African Baobab is thought to be over 6,000 years old…
One of the Baobab’s remarkable properties – and the reason for its bestriding of the desert lands – is that it is able to store water in its trunk. Up to 120,000 litres at a time. During the rainy season it will gorge itself and the trunk will fatten noticeably; come the dry season when all around is parched and rasping, the Baobab drinks its fill and loses weight. But it’s not just water the Baobab can provide – it gives of itself with altruistic glee:
- The fruit has a higher vitamin C content than an orange and a higher calcium content than cow’s milk. It can also be ground down to make coffee and the seeds used as thickener for soups and for seasoning. In East Africa, the the dry fruit pulp is covered in sugary coating and sold in packages as a sweet and sour candy called “boonya” or “bungha”.
- The leaves can be used for salads or boiled and eaten.
- The bark can be pounded to make rope, mats, baskets, paper and cloth
- Glue can be made from the pollen

Baobabs at dusk. Image by {link:http://www.flickr.com/photos/97968921@N00/2846353305/}Ze Eduardo {/link}
Considering all this it’s little wonder that the Baobab has such a presence – both in the sense of the way it supports an entire ecosystem, its entwinement with everyday life, and its ubiquity in local mythology. It’s probably worth knowing that if if you pick a flower from a Baobab tree you will be eaten by a lion, but to counter that if you drink water in which a Baobab’s seeds have been soaked you will be safe from crocodile attack. All this and probably the coolest thing of all is that the Baobab’s flowers open at night and are pollinated by bats. What’s not to love?
If that hasn’t convinced you to go The Gambia right now, seek out a Baobab, slip on some sandals and a smock and sink to your knees in epiphanic ecstasy I don’t know what will. Yea mighty Baobab, we are your humble servants.
Enjoy the rest of the photos below.




























