23 June 2011

BAOBAB

From the silhouette of the leaves, one would likely love the palmate leaves. But when one looks at the entire plant, one would be in awe of its uncommon beauty.

Such a tree is not common in our landscape and so, we would marvel at its unusual shape, big swollen trunk and few branches of leaves.

Whilst this is a branch of the Ceiba, other trees such as Adansonia are also referred to as Baobab. In fact, this genus epitomize this group of trees, which originate mainly from Africa's savanna grasslands. Their swollen trunk is an adaptation for them to tolerate dry spells and their flowers usually open at night and are shed within 24 hours. The large flowers have a acrid smell, hence they are mostly pollinated by bats.


Soon, the public would be able to have a preview of these almost century old trees in their final home for the next few decades.