You Cannot Hug A Baobab

I may be considered a tree-hugger. I’ve climbed them, chopped them, rode them (in the water) and I’ve even hugged them. Once, after falling asleep whilst using a pine tree as a headrest next to a roaring fire, I even became attached to one. The fire had heated the sap in the tree to the degree that it ran down into my hair and when I awoke, after the fire was out and the sap had cooled, I became one with the tree.

My fascination with trees certainly carries to the Baobab tree. These trees are unlike any tree I’ve ever seen. Very prehistoric. Pictured is the World’s Champion Baobab Tree. I even like the fact that it’s difficult to pronounce the name. It’s not like “oak”, “birch”, “palm” or “pine”. It’s Baobab; B-a-o-b-a-b.

The Baobab is found in the arid savannas of Africa and India, and known as "The Tree of Life" for its vitality and longevity. This gigantic tree can grow up to 80 feet tall, and up to 40 feet in diameter, with compact, irregular crown, and can live for several thousand years. In spite of the enormous girth of the trees, they are not particularly tall, and thus have a bottlelike appearance. The baobab is leafless for nine months of the year. In the wet months, water is stored in its thick, corky, fire-resistant trunk for the nine dry months ahead.

Baobab legend:

• An Arabian legend says that "the devil plucked up the baobab, thrust its branches into the earth and left its roots in the air."
• Another legend states: "The baobab was among the first trees to appear on the land. Next came the slender, graceful palm tree. When the baobab saw the palm tree, it cried out that it wanted to be taller. Then the beautiful flame tree appeared with its red flower and the baobab was envious for flower blossoms. When the baobab saw the magnificent fig tree, it prayed for fruit as well. The gods became angry with the tree, and pulled it up by its roots, then replanted it upside down to keep it quiet.
• In Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's story The Little Prince , the Little Prince was worried that baobabs (described as "trees as big as castles") would grow on his asteroid and take up all the space.

The baobab's bark, leaves, fruit, and trunk are all used:

• the bark of the baobab is used for cloth and rope
• the leaves for condiments and medicines
• the gourd-like fruit, called "monkey bread", is eaten
• the leaves are also common as a leaf vegetable throughout Africa.
• the leaves are used to make kuka soup in Nigeria.
• the dry pulp of the fruit, after separation from the seeds and fibers, is eaten directly or mixed into porridge or milk
• the seeds are most used as a thickener for soups, but may also be fermented into a seasoning, roasted for direct consumption, or pounded to extract vegetable oil.
• the tree also provides a source of fiber, dye, and fuel
• sometimes people live inside of the huge trunks
• bush-babies live in the crown

What a tree! It even comes with Bush Babies!

B-a-o-b-a-b.