{"slug":"adansonia-digitata","scientific_name":"Adansonia digitata","common_names":["Baobab","African baobab","Monkey bread tree"],"family":"Malvaceae","type":"broadleaf_deciduous","mature_height_m":20,"mature_spread_m":20,"growth_rate":"slow","lifespan_years":1000,"hardiness_zones":[10,12],"sun":"full","water":"low","soil":"Well-drained, preferably acidic soils with sandy topsoil; avoids deep sand; very sensitive to waterlogging and frost","native_range":"Native to the savannas of sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia and south to Angola, Namibia, Mozambique and South Africa, plus Oman and Yemen; introduced to Madagascar, India and the Caribbean.","description":"The unmistakable 'upside-down tree', 10 to 25 m tall with a swollen water-storing trunk that can reach 28 m in girth and live more than 1,000 years. Leafless most of the dry season, it bears large white bat-pollinated flowers and velvety fruit whose tart vitamin-C-rich pulp is a growing export. It is planted by communities and agroforestry programmes for food, fibre and shade, though it grows slowly after an initial burst.","care":"Sow or plant at the start of the rains in frost-free, well-drained ground; seedlings reach 2 m in two years and 7 m in ten, then slow down. Protect young trees from livestock and game. No pruning needed; it may be pollarded for leaves. Resistant to fire, termites and drought; elephants damage mature trunks. Keep well away from buildings because of its eventual size.","benefits":["edible","long_lived","drought_tolerant","shade","wildlife","pollinators"],"uses":["food","agroforestry","parks","yard_shade"],"cautions":["large_roots"],"image_url":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Baobab_and_elephant%2C_Tanzania.jpg","image_credit":"Wikimedia Commons, file Baobab_and_elephant,_Tanzania.jpg (see file page for author and licence)","sources":["https://apps.worldagroforestry.org/treedb2/speciesprofile.php?Spid=143","https://apps.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/AFTPDFS/Adansonia_digitata.PDF","https://www.gbif.org/species/5406695","https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=277943"],"data_note":null,"updated_at":"2026-11-08T01:00:46.205Z","page_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/adansonia-digitata","markdown_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/adansonia-digitata.md","regions":[{"country":"BF","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5406695"},{"country":"KE","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5406695"},{"country":"ML","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5406695"},{"country":"MZ","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5406695"},{"country":"NG","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5406695"},{"country":"SD","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5406695"},{"country":"SN","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5406695"},{"country":"TZ","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5406695"},{"country":"ZA","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":"Limpopo province","source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5406695"},{"country":"ZW","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5406695"},{"country":"IN","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Introduced centuries ago per WCVP","source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5406695"},{"country":"MG","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Introduced per WCVP","source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5406695"}],"license":"CC-BY-4.0"}