# Baobab (Adansonia digitata)

> 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.

Source: https://treerm.org/trees/adansonia-digitata · Updated 2026-11-08 · License CC BY 4.0

## Facts

- Also called: African baobab, Monkey bread tree
- Family: Malvaceae
- Type: Broadleaf, drops leaves
- Mature height: 20 m; spread 20 m
- Growth: Slow growing; lives about 1000 years
- USDA hardiness zones: 10 to 12
- Light: Full sun
- Water: Low water
- 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.

**Benefits:** Edible, Long lived, Drought tolerant, Shade, Wildlife, Pollinators

**Good for:** Food, Agroforestry, parks, Yard shade

**Watch out for:** Large roots

## 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.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** Burkina Faso; Kenya; Mali; Mozambique; Nigeria; Sudan; Senegal; Tanzania; South Africa (Limpopo province); Zimbabwe
- **Adapted:** India (Introduced centuries ago per WCVP); Madagascar (Introduced per WCVP)

## 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