Common Name:

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[].
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[].
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)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

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[, ].

Properties

Conservation Status	Near Threatened
Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	12.00 m
Pollinators	Fruit bats
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Requires a sunny position. Found in the wild in well-drained, sandy or limestone soils[, ]. Established plants are drought tolerant.

Edible Uses

Fruit[]. 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[]. The fruits are collected by climbing the small trees, often with the aid of wooden pegs hammered into the trunks[].

Seed[]. Rich in oil[]. 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%[].


Root - cooked and eaten as a vegetable[, ].

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[, ]. 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[].

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[].

Propagation

Seed -

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