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Useful Tropical Plants

Adansonia grandidieri

Baill.

Malvaceae

+ Synonyms

Common Name: Giant Baobab

Adansonia grandidieri
The Allée des Baobabs near Morondava, Madagascar
Photograph by: Frank Vassen
Creative Commons License
Adansonia grandidieri Adansonia grandidieri Adansonia grandidieri Adansonia grandidieri

General Information

Adansonia grandidieri is a deciduous tree usually growing up to 25 metres tall, though stunted plants in the south of its range are sometimes only 5 metres tall. It has a massive, cylindrical bole that can be 3 - 5 metres in diameter and serves to store water for times of drought; the bole is topped by a sparse, few-branched, flat-topped, light crown[
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.
,
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.
].
This is the most valuable and most widely exploited of all baobab species in Madagascar[
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.
]. It provides edible fruits and oil-rich seeds as well as being a source of fibre and material for thatching. It is only used locally, though the oil obtained from the seeds is of very good quality and has, in the past, been exported to Europe[
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.
]. Sheets of wood obtained from the trunk and used for thatching are sold in local markets[
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.
].
Found only in a restricted area of Madagascar, the tree is threatened by habitat destruction and, due to the low numbers of mature specimens, poor regeneration. It is classified as 'Endangered' 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 - southwest Madagascar.

Habitat

Dry deciduous forest at low elevations, where it commonly occurs close to waterholes and rivers[
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.
]. Most mature trees are now found in degraded agricultural land[
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.
].

Properties

Conservation StatusEndangered
Edibility Rating *  *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *
HabitDeciduous Tree
Height20.00 m
Growth RateFast
PollinatorsFruit bats, Lemurs
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details


Found in the wild in moist but well-drained soils[
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.
Taking into account its dry habitat, the early growth of this tree is fast; it can be 2 metres tall within 2 years from seed and 12 - 15 metres tall, with a bole diameter of 60cm. Within 12 years[
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.
].

Edible Uses

Fruit pulp - raw[
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.
]. The fruit is a large, hairy, reddish-brown, oblong-ovoid to almost globose berry. It has a fragile, 2.5 - 4mm thick wall, and contains many kidney-shaped seeds that are 12 - 14mm long, 10 - 12mm wide and 9 - 10mm 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.
].
Fruits are collected from the ground or picked from the tree by using steps made from wooden pegs that are hammered into the trunk[
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.
].

Seed - raw[
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 36 - 39% of a good quality cooking 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 fatty acid composition of the oil is: palmitic acid 38%; stearic acid 4%; oleic acid 23%; and linoleic acid 16%. The oil also contains the rare fatty acids: malvalic acid 7%; sterculic acid 8%; and dihydrosterculic acid 2%[
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.
].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The fibrous bark of mature trees is found in a layer up to 15cm wide on the tree. It is used for making rope, particularly for use in canoes[
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.
]. To obtain the bark for rope-making, the bark is cut from ground level up to about 2 metres high. The scar persists but new bark regenerates over the damaged parts[
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.
].

A fixed oil obtained from the seed is used as an ingredient in commercial cosmetic preparations as a humectant, skin protector and conditioner, hair conditioner[
1243
Title
CosIng
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
CosIng is the European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients.
].

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, trees are felled and sheets of fibrous wood are peeled from the bole and dried in the sun[
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.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-12-03. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Adansonia+grandidieri>

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