the.com/baobab
the tree that stores 100,000 liters of water and outlives entire civilizations
means A massive, long-lived tree native to Africa, Madagascar, and Australia, known for its swollen, water-storing trunk and an upside-down, root-like canopy of bare branches.
from The word reached English in the late 16th century, apparently first recorded by the Italian botanist Prospero Alpini, who described the tree from Egypt. Its ultimate source is uncertain but is generally traced to an African language, possibly Arabic or a Semitic intermediary that carried a local name northward. So the word arrived much the way the tree's fame did — passed hand to hand across continents, its exact starting point long since blurred.
- lifespan
- Some specimens exceed 2,000 years old
- water tank
- Trunk holds up to 120,000 liters
- upside down
- Bare branches look like roots reaching skyward
- hollow homes
- One housed a pub seating dozens inside
- sudden collapse
- Ancient giants are mysteriously dying and toppling
baobab of menara gardens — 1,000+ year old tree in marrakech, morocco, iconic landmark
sunland baobab — largest baobab by volume in limpopo, south africa, collapsed 2016
baobab of jatropha — ancient specimen in senegal's sahel region, 600+ years old