Baobab of Purani Jhunsi, Prayagraj

Explorer Vijay Menon & team discover another baobab tree. This baobab is way up the country, at Purani Jhusi in Prayagraj.

That's Vijay with the Baobab.

The tree is situated on a large platform which quite convenient for the baobab. However Vijay noted some people were scrapping layers off the tree's trunk. Apparently the scrapings were to be used to prepare medicine for headache or some other ache. Hoping this is not a regular happening considering the tree's safety. Hoping local authorities take notice of this and erect a fence to prevent people coming in physical contact with this living heritage.

And here's Vijay & team at Prayagraj for Maha Kumbha Mela 2025.

Baobab originates from the African continent. Between the XIV and XVII Centuries CE, groups of Sufi ascetics travelled to the Indian subcontinent carrying Baobab seeds & saplings. The Sufi ascetics planted them wherever they camped for long periods. Baobab, though a rare tree in our country, thousands of trees are said to have survived in the western parts i.e. Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh. Baobabs made their way interior regions i.e. the Deccan plateau and even down south to Tamil Nadu. For the reader's benefit, below is a list of known Baobab trees of 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. on the outskirts of Devadurga, Raichur district, Karnataka
10. Purana Qilla, Golconda Fort, Hyderabad, Telangana
11. Attapur, Hyderabad
12. Vansthalipuram, Hyderabad, Telangana
13. near Chappel Road, Hyderabad, Telangana
14. Ranganath temple at Nanakramguda, Hyderabad, Telangana
15. Shivalaya on Balachandruni Guttalu, Nalagonda, Telangana
16. Uppal in Chengicherla Reserve Forests, Hyderabad, Telangana
17. Nellore, Andhrapradesh
18. Theosophist Society Gardens, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
19. The American College campus, Madurai, TN
20. Chinmaya Vidyalaya's campus at Ilanthope, Rajapalayam, TN
21. Mangaliawas near Ajmer, Rajasthan
22. Vadodara, Gujarat
23. Dayapur, Gujarat
24. Kutch, Gujarat
25. Bhanagar, Gujarat
26. Baroda, Gujarat
27. Victoria Garden, Sukharamnagar, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
28. Mulund, Mumbai, Maharashtra
29. Byculla zoo, Mumbai, Maharashtra
30. Tilak road and Ghokale road, Pune, Maharastra
31. near Aurangabad, Maharashtra
32. inside Shirala fort, Maharashtra
33. Revdanda-Murud road near Korlai, Maharastra
34. opposite Mandvi Darwaza at Vasai Fort, Maharastra
35. Nana Fadnavis Wada premises, Menawali, Maharashtra
36. Mandavgad or Mandu, Madhya Pradesh
37. Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, Bihar

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