Common Name: Baobab, Tree of Life, The Monkey Bread Tree Latin Name: Adansonia digitata Family: Bombaceae Category: Tree Foliage: Deciduous, during the dry season. Big leaves Bloom: Summer (May to August), scented, nectar at the end of the long stems. Huge nocturnal flowers with 5 petals. Hard oblong fruit and its pollinisation is carried out by bats. Colour: Porcelain white Growth rate: Slow to shoot Height: 20-24m, the diametre of the trunk can reach 8-9m Germination: Seedbed or taking of cuttings Soil: It likes calcium, alkaline, neutral or mildly acidic soil, rather dry, fertile, poor in phosphates. Placement: In sunlight The baobab store water inside the big trunk and can store up to 120,000 litres of water, helping the tree to survive the most arid conditions. As the Baobab is very robust it is immune to the ravages of hungry animals, so it simply continues growing and produces a new layer of bark. Origin: Central Africa, but baobabs are found right from the Sahel (North Africa) to the Transvaal (region of South Africa), in areas of dry savanna. The tree is found in the areas of South Africa, Niger, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and in other tropical African countries. The baobab is restricted to living in hot and dry areas, and cannot survive in a cold and frosty environment. There are 8 different baobab species in the world, however only one is found in continental Africa. The other species are found occurs in northwestern Australia. But six species occur in Madagascar, a biodiversity hotspot for this remarkable living being. Name derivation: The name Baobab comes from the Arab word "bu hibab", fruit of many seeds. There are eight different species of Baobab, of which 6 are endemic in Madagascar and one species in Australia. Further intersting info: The baobab is easy to recognise as its silvery smooth bark is distinctive, and its huge size and chubby looks diferentiate from other trees. Another characteristic is that the baobab tree is leafless 9 months a year. The most spectacular Baobab, A. grandidieri, reaches aprox. 40 m in height, only bearing branches at the very top of the tall and thick trunk.