Baobabs of Madagascar

There are 8 species of Baobabs in the world, 7 of them are found on the island of Madagascar, and 6 of them are endemic. Baobabs are malvaceae, of the Bombacaceae family. In the words of Madagascar's leading baobab specialist, Cyril Cornu, contrary to popular belief, the baobab is not a tree, it is a plant. Although literally, it is nicer to refer to them as trees.

Baobabs are considered the most spectacular flora in the world. They are hermaphrodite, deciduous plants with a more or less bottle-shaped trunk between 5 and 30 meters long. Their wood is very light and can contain up to 75% water inside.

All Madagascan species have similar morphological characteristics. Leaves fall in the Malagasy dry season. By suppressing the leaves they reduce transpiration and the need for water. The outcroppings can lead them to develop extraordinary forms that have always surrounded them with mythology and mystery. The flowers are large and open just before or during twilight and take between 30 seconds and half an hour depending on the species. These movements are visible to the human eye. The oldest baobabs can easily exceed 1,000 years, although many can even reach 1,500 years. Growth varies according to the type of terrain, climate and species, but in all cases growth is very slow. And their growth is the same upwards as underground, which is why some are so well rooted that they resist hurricanes and tropical cyclones.