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Useful Tropical Plants

Adansonia rubrostipa

Jum. & H. Perrier

Malvaceae

+ Synonyms

Common Name:

Adansonia rubrostipa
Tree growing in native habitat
Photograph by: Zachary Rogers
Creative Commons License
Adansonia rubrostipa Adansonia rubrostipa Adansonia rubrostipa Adansonia rubrostipa Adansonia rubrostipa Adansonia rubrostipa Adansonia rubrostipa Adansonia rubrostipa

General Information

Adansonia rubrostipa is a deciduous tree with a sparse, irregular, open crown; it can grow from 5 - 20 metres tall. The swollen bole is up to 2 metres in diameter, it can be cylindrical, bottle shaped or, rarely, tapering[
727
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Vol. 82
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden; St. Louis.
Year
1995
ISBN
0026-6493
Description
A botanical journal containing various articles, including a monograph of the genus Adansonia (Baobabs). It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of thatch. The edible fruits are sometimes sold in local markets[
727
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Vol. 82
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden; St. Louis.
Year
1995
ISBN
0026-6493
Description
A botanical journal containing various articles, including a monograph of the genus Adansonia (Baobabs). It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].
The wide distribution of this species ensures that it is conservationally secure, although some populations are threatened with destruction for charcoal production. There has been considerable population declines in the past because of the dramatic rate of habitat loss. The long generation time of baobabs also makes them more vulnerable. The plant is classified as 'Near Threatened' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2011)[
338
Title
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.iucnredlist.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

727
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Vol. 82
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden; St. Louis.
Year
1995
ISBN
0026-6493
Description
A botanical journal containing various articles, including a monograph of the genus Adansonia (Baobabs). It can be downloaded from the Internet.

Range

Africa - western Madagascar.

Habitat

Spiny forest and dry deciduous forest on well-drained calcareous soils and on karstic limestone at elevations up to 500 metres[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
,
727
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Vol. 82
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden; St. Louis.
Year
1995
ISBN
0026-6493
Description
A botanical journal containing various articles, including a monograph of the genus Adansonia (Baobabs). It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

Properties

Conservation StatusNear Threatened
Edibility Rating *  *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *
HabitDeciduous Tree
Height12.00 m
PollinatorsFruit bats
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details


Requires a sunny position. Found in the wild in well-drained, sandy or limestone soils[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
,
385
Title
Bihrmann's Caudiciforms
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.bihrmann.com/caudiciforms/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An internet site giving information on caudiciform plants (plants with swollen stem bases such as the Baobab tree, cycads and many succulents). Excellent photos, usually of cultivated plants in pots.
]. Established plants are drought tolerant.

Edible Uses

Fruit[
727
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Vol. 82
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden; St. Louis.
Year
1995
ISBN
0026-6493
Description
A botanical journal containing various articles, including a monograph of the genus Adansonia (Baobabs). It can be downloaded from the Internet.
]. The fruit is a large, globose berry with a woody, 4 - 5mm thick wall. The pulp contains many seeds around 16mm long, 12mm wide and 8mm thick[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]. The fruits are collected by climbing the small trees, often with the aid of wooden pegs hammered into the trunks[
727
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Vol. 82
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden; St. Louis.
Year
1995
ISBN
0026-6493
Description
A botanical journal containing various articles, including a monograph of the genus Adansonia (Baobabs). It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

Seed[
727
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Vol. 82
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden; St. Louis.
Year
1995
ISBN
0026-6493
Description
A botanical journal containing various articles, including a monograph of the genus Adansonia (Baobabs). It can be downloaded from the Internet.
]. Rich in oil[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]. The seed contains about 11% oil, made up of palmitic acid 30%; stearic acid 2%; oleic acid 30%; and linoleic acid 23%. In addition, the oil contains the rare fatty acids malvalic acid 5%; sterculic acid 2%; and dihydrosterculic acid 3%[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].


Root - cooked and eaten as a vegetable[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
,
727
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Vol. 82
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden; St. Louis.
Year
1995
ISBN
0026-6493
Description
A botanical journal containing various articles, including a monograph of the genus Adansonia (Baobabs). It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The wood is spongy and moisture-rich, comprising concentric sheets of fibre that probably correspond to annual growth rings. Dried sheets of wood have been used as thatch[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
,
727
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Vol. 82
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden; St. Louis.
Year
1995
ISBN
0026-6493
Description
A botanical journal containing various articles, including a monograph of the genus Adansonia (Baobabs). It can be downloaded from the Internet.
]. To obtain wood for use in thatching, either fire-killed trees are used or trees are specifically felled, then sheets of the fibrous wood are peeled from the bole and dried in the sun[
727
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Vol. 82
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden; St. Louis.
Year
1995
ISBN
0026-6493
Description
A botanical journal containing various articles, including a monograph of the genus Adansonia (Baobabs). It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

There have been reports that the wood was used to make canoes. The wood of baobabs is not suited for this use and, hence, this comment is mistaken[
727
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Vol. 82
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden; St. Louis.
Year
1995
ISBN
0026-6493
Description
A botanical journal containing various articles, including a monograph of the genus Adansonia (Baobabs). It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-03-29. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Adansonia+rubrostipa>

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