Baobab trees in Karnataka and Telangana

The first time I saw a Baobab tree was on a cinema screen, think it was "Gods must be crazy." Mostly shot in an African country, the cinema was a peep into the wilderness of the dark continent. Like many people I was fascinated by the unique looking tree. With huge bottle shaped trunks and spindly branches sticking out some of them looked like badly made scarecrows. As I remember there weren't many leaves. Probably the scenes were shot when Baobabs had shed leaves. Despite their odd looks, they were beautiful and ever interesting. With the available information back then, for me Baobabs existed only in Africa, I had no clue they existed in our country. The first time I saw a Baobab for real was at Savanur. It was a freak discovery. The purpose of my visit to Savanur was to see the remains of a fort. While inquiring about the scattered ruins, a local man told us to check out the huge trees of Dodda Hunase Mata, the word Baobab was never mentioned. When we reached the Mata, it was a pleasant surprise, happy to be seeing a rare tree.

Savanur Baobabs ignited the research of Baobabs in our country. Online search revealed Baobab sites mostly on the western side and a few deep inside. Apparently there (were) thousands in Gujarat and Maharashtra however the information needs verification. For the southern states, Baobab is a rare tree, the number in all four states can be counted in one or two hands. between 2011 and 2018 got to see 5 of 7 Baobab sites mentioned here. The remaining 2 were visited by my friends and I got to see those Baobabs through their eyes and cameras.

Below are pictures of the Baobabs of the 5 sites I have visited and 2 sites visited by my friends. Going by the forms & sizes of these trees, I feel the climatic & soil conditions have had a major role in the trees' development.

1. Dodda-Hunase Mata, Savanur: Pictures of Savanur Baobabs were taken on Apr 30, 2011. The trees are situated inside Dodda Hunase Mata. The monastery people have fenced the garden and planted boards showing the trees' dimensions. 

Tree no.	Girth (m)	Height (m)
1	15.7	15.5
2	12.92	16.4
3	12.62	15.7

Another board has a mythological story about the trees which cannot be verified. I'm guessing these trees could be 400 to 500 years old which means they were planted during XIV or XV Century CE. During that time Sufi ascetics travelled to Africa and back. It is said that the Sufis carried Baobab seeds & saplings, they planted the saplings as they travelled across the Deccan plateau. BTW, Baobabs have extremely long life spans, they can live upto 3000 years. Normally trees grow new branches but Baobabs grow new stems from the base. The new stems encircle the older ones, increasing its girth and continues to live like a new born tree.

Below is a collage of a grown Baobab and a year old sapling.  Its a nice initiative by the Mata to plant a Baobab sapling here but its has been planted barely two feet away from a building. How is it supposed to grow normally.

African people familiar with Baobabs eat its fruit, it is consumed in the raw form or cooked. Baobab fruit is supposed to be very nutritious, especially Vitamin-C. Here, one of the Mata worker told me that Baobab fruit & leaves have medicinal properties. A fully grown fruit has been kept in the mata pooja room. People here call it Dodda Hunase meaning "big tamarind." Hence the monastery's name. 

2. Ogapur, Vijayapura, Vijayapura district: I could locate the second Baobab (in Karnataka) on July 3, 2016 during our tour of Vijayapura. Again this discovery happened by chance. I had heard about the Baobab near Ibrahim Roza. The ticket collector at the monument told me that the Baobab had died couple years back. I guessed densely packed buildings around the tree must have suffocated it. Sad. Then the collector told us about the Baobab at Ogapur on the opposite side of Vijayapura city, off Vijayapura-Kalburgi highway, situated next to a Dargah. We could locate the Dargah and the tree easily. As you see its an umbrella shaped Baobab, very different from the Savanut Baobabs. Leaves are same.

A local man told us that these leaves and fruits have medicinal properties, He urged us to chew a leaf which I did. It tasted mildly sweet, I can't remember anything sticky or gooey. It felt as though I had had a green leafy vegetable. Also our friend mentioned that this tree was planted by Sufi ascetics. One thing I missed asking is what they called this tree. The tree at Golconda is called Hathiyan because its stem resembles elephant legs.

Here we were lucky to see Baobab buds and flowers. As I took pictures, a bee hovered and landed on the yellow core which I guess is the pollen mat. That bee must've brough pollen from other flowers and when it leaves it would carry pollen from this flower. Then on the left is a bud and fully developed flower. On the right are flowers in their final stages. Probably one or two of these dry flowers might have become fruits.

3. Mahalakshmi Gudi, Martur, Kalburgi district: On February 24th 2021 a comment on  comment on Martur fort and Mithakshara inscription  post gave the news that there was a Baobab at Martur itself. I had visited Martur in Nov 2013, spent one or two hours at the village but I missed the Baobab. The comment was posted by Amit Kumar. He also said that he knew how to make saplings from Baobab seeds. That sounded very interesting. Amit had left his mobile number, I contacted him and spoke about Martur Baobab and his collection of rare plants. He shared some details about germinating Baobab seeds and how to take care of the baby plants. Amit shared pictures and I dedicated a post to Martur Baobab. Thanks to Amit for the beautiful picture of Baobab fruit on the tree.

These four little plants are Baobab saplings which Amit produced. I hope the Baobabs have grown up into healthy young trees.

4. Lalbagh Botanical Garden, Bengaluru: As a school going kid I had spent countless number of hours at Lalbagh. Though I liked greenery, I never really showed deep interest... like looking for rare trees or learning their names and stuff like that. My interest remained a bud until I was 30+ which started blooming in late 2000s. My frequent visits to the botanical garden in Karnataka University, Dharwad introduced me to another rare tree which happens to be Krishna Ficus or Krishna's Buttercup. Thanks to Dr. Umesh Laddi for the clue. This tree with cup-shaped leaves is a divine connection between our legends and botany. Much before Baobab research, Krishna Ficus research had commenced.

During my visits to Bangalore in 2010s, I made it a point to spend one or two mornings at Lalbagh. At times I initiated meetups with school friends for a walk & breakfast. During one such meetup with primary school friends, I discovered the Krishna Ficus trees of Lalbagh - which was a complete surprise. That's the day I wondered if there was a Baobab as well. Someone far away read my thought and posted a comment on the Gigantic Silk-Cotton Trees of Lalbagh in Feb 2019 which said "There is a Baobab tree in Lalbagh near the fish tank building." With this lead I tried to locate the Baobab but the attempt was a failure. The elusive Baobab was located by my high-school friend Anil Prasad on October 29, 2022. Anil shared a few pictures while he was at the site.

Of all the Baobabs seen until now, Lalbagh Baobab is the smallest in terms of height. As you see there are three stems which grow into each other and become one large stem. 

A board planted next to the Baobab gives a few basic facts. Below are the transcripts of the board in Kannada and English.

ಆನೆ ಹುಣಸೆ 

ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಹೆಸರು: ಆನೆ ಹುಣಸೆ ಬೇಯೋಬಾಬ್ 

ಸಸ್ಯ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರೀಯ ಹೆಸರು: ಅಡನ್ ಸೋನಿಯಾ ಡಿಜಿಟಾಟ

ಸಸ್ಯ ಸಾಂಕ್ರಿಯ ಕುಟುಂಬ: ಬಾಂಬಕೆಸಿ 

ಮೂಲ: ಆಫ್ರಿಕಾ ದೇಶ 

ಈ ಮರವು ಪ್ರಪಂಚದಲ್ಲೇ ಬಹಳ ಬೃಹದಾಕಾರವಾಗಿ ಬೆಳೆಯುವ ಮರ. ಈ ಮರವು ೨೦೦೦ ವರ್ಷಗಳೂ ಮಿಗಿಲಾಗಿ ಜೀವಿಸುವ ಚೈತನ್ಯವುಳ್ಳ ಮರವಾಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದರ ಕಾಂಡವು ಉಬ್ಬು ತಗ್ಗುಗಳಿಂದ ಕೂಡಿದ್ದು. ಬಾಟಲಿನ ಆಕಾರದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಕಾಂಡವು ಬಹಳ ದಪ್ಪವಾಗಿದ್ದು ತುದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮೊನಚಾಗಿ ನಂತರ ಕವಲೊಡೆದು ದಪ್ಪ ಕೊಂಬೆಗಳಾಗಿ ಬೆಳೆಯುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದರ ತವರೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಹಳೆಯ ಮರಗಳ ಕಾಂಡಗಳು ಟೊಳ್ಳಾಗಿ ಸುಮಾರು ೧೨೫೦ ಲೀಟರ್ ನಷ್ಟು ಮಳೆಯ ನೀರನ್ನು ಸಂಗ್ರಹಿಸುವ ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯವಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಭೀಕರ ಬರಗಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ನೀರನ್ನು ಜನರು ಕುಡಿಯಲು ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು ಎಂದು ಉಲ್ಲೇಖಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಇದು ಒಂದು ಅಲಂಕಾರಿಕ ಮರವಾಗಿದ್ದು ಇದನ್ನು ದೊಡ್ಡ ಉದ್ಯಾನವನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಳೆಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಇದರ ಕಾಯಿಗಳು ಹಗುರವಾಗಿದ್ದು ಮೀನು ಹಿಡಿಯುವ ಬಳೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ.

Baobab tree

Common name: Baobab Tree, Monkey Bread Tree

Botanical Name: Adansonia digitata

Family: Bombaceceae

Origin: Tropical Africa

It is a curious looking giant tree, thought to live more than 2000 years with a swollen bottle shaped trunk suddenly tapering upwards and dividing into a number of large branches. In its native country, the trunk of older trees get hollowed to such an extent to hold rain water as much as 1250 liters, by tapping which people survive over long drought periods. Leaves deciduous, flowers white and scented with purplish stamens. An ornamental tree planted in parks. Dry fruits are used as floats for fishing nets.

5. Naya Qila, Golconda, Hyderabad: I heard of Golconda Baobab after moving to Hyderabad, a trip tp Golconda had formed. On October 26, 2014 we first visited the hilltop fort and then went to Naya Qila which covers the plains adjoining the hillock. The Baobab is situated inside Naya Qila next to an ancient mosque. The tree is enclosed in a fence, a caretaker guarding it during day time. Local people call this Baobab as Hathiyan or Elephant tree since it's bark resembles elephant hide. Also one of the branches looks like elephant trunk and a part of its trunk looks like elephant legs. This tree's girth is 27.4m. Inside the trunk are two "rooms." To reach the rooms, one has to climb up the trunk and then descend in the hollow. Baobabs store huge amounts of water in its trunk.

A closeup of one of the branches. There are 5-lobed and 7-lobed leaves. This is the part of the stem which looks like elephant legs. Going by the girth, this tree could be 600 years or more. I feel Vijayapura Baobab and Hatiyan are similar in terms of foliage. Form-wise the Baobabs of Savanur, Martur, Lalbagh, Nalgonda & Nanakramguda can be one set, while Vijayapura and Golconda Baobabs is another set.

6. Shivalaya, Balachandruni Guttalu, Nalgonda: Besides Golconda Baobab, research had yielded the locations of Baobabs at Nalgonda, Nanakramguda and  Chengicherla Reserve Forests. On December 24, 2017 we visited Nalgonda. First we saw Chaya Someshwara Devalaya, the temple known for its mysterious shadow behind the deity throughout the day. Then we headed towards the hill path leading upto the Shivalaya next to which the Baobab is situated. Close to this hill is another temple, which is dedicated to Durgadevi and a Dargah at the hilltop. As mentioned in the previous para, Nalgonda Baobab is similar to Savanur Baobabs.

Of all the Baobabs this one is special because it has a passage to its hollow trunk. Unfortunately people here have been insensitive- see how close the constructions are. Then the metallic frame & gate have been nailed into the trunk. Then a coat of paint! I wish people treated this rare tree like how they treat themselves i.e. with care. Inside the hollow is a shrine, an idol of an ascetic is the deity. Of all the Baobabs seen, this is the only one situated on a hill, rest are on plain ground.

7. Near Ranganatha Swamy Devastana, Nanakramguda, Hyderabad: As per online sources this Baobab was situated in a ground adjoining Ranganatha Swamy temple. On January 6, 2018 we went in search of the tree. At the temple we learned that the tree was inside a neighboring construction site. A ground with several trees had been cleared and construction activity was in full swing. Its just luck that the Baobab happened to be at the border - hence it was spared. The site security wasn't willing to let me take pictures, I managed to convince them and took a few pictures quickly before the site manager turned up.

A picture of the same tree by Desi Traveler shot sometime 2017. 

Hoping to see more Baobabs in the coming years. Also, I would like to revisit Savanur to check on the sapling. I would also like to get a few saplings from my friend Amit Kumar and plant them near Dharwad.

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