Jun 7, 2023

model of a Baobab tree

This 2" tall model of a Baobab tree has been at my mother's place for many years. I think this was brought by my brother during his trip to Malawi, a landlocked African country.

A native of African soil, fully grown Baobab trees have a stout trunk and spindly branches. Baobabs can grow up to 25 meters and live hundreds of years. Baobabs can store huge amounts of water inside its trunk. They have dark green leaves, bear white flowers and produce a soft-shelled fruit. Baobab's leaves and fruits are edible, a variety of dishes are made out them by the African people. Baobabs are also found in Australia.
Baobabs made their way to the Indian subcontinent in the during the medieval times. The Sufi ascetics traveling from Africa to India carried fruits, seeds and saplings, they planted the saplings around their  camping sites. It is said that hundreds if not thousands of Baobabs were planted of which a few hundreds of them survived mainly along the western coastline of India in the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, and also in Madhya Pradesh. A few have survived in Goa, Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.
Below are the list of known sites of the rare Baobab trees in India-
  1. Hilltop Nightclub, Vagator, Goa
  2. Cabo Raj Bhavan, Dona Paula, Goa
  3. Quepem, Goa
  4. Bamboo Motels, Goa
  5. next to Yogapur mosque, Bijapur
  6. Mahalakshmi Gudi premises, Martur, Kalburgi district
  7. Dodda Hunashe Matha, Savanur, Karnataka
  8. Near the aquarium in Lalbagh Botanical Garden, Bengaluru
  9. Purana Qilla, Golconda Fort, Hyderabad, Telangana
  10. Attapur, Hyderabad
  11. Vansthalipuram, Hyderabad, Telangana
  12. near Chappel Road, Hyderabad, Telangana
  13. Ranganath temple at Nanakramguda, Hyderabad, Telangana
  14. Uppal in Chengicherla Reserve Forests, Hyderabad, Telangana
  15. Nellore, Andhrapradesh
  16. Theosophist Society Gardens, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
  17. The American College campus, Madurai, TN
  18. Chinmaya Vidyalaya's campus at Ilanthope, Rajapalayam, TN
  19. Mangaliawas near Ajmer, Rajasthan
  20. Vadodara, Gujarat
  21. Dayapur, Gujarat
  22. Kutch, Gujarat
  23. Bhanagar, Gujarat
  24. Baroda, Gujarat
  25. Victoria Garden, Sukharamnagar, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
  26. Mulund, Mumbai, Maharashtra
  27. Byculla zoo, Mumbai, Maharashtra
  28. Outside the Vasai fort, Maharashtra
  29. Tilak road and Ghole road, Pune, Maharastra
  30. near Aurangabad, Maharashtra
  31. inside Shirala fort, Maharashtra
  32. Nana Fadnavis Wada premises, Menawali, Maharashtra
  33. Mandavgad or Mandu, Madhya Pradesh
  34. near Sangam, left bank of the Ganga, Prayag, Uttar Pradesh 
  35. Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, Bihar
Talking of rare & endangered trees, you might want to take a look at Silk Cotton and Krishna Ficus trees in Karnataka.
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