Baobab Trees

Why in news?

• The Madhya Pradesh government has decided that the forest department cannot give permission to translocate Dhar’s famed Baobab trees.

About Baobab Trees:

• Baobabs are long-lived deciduous, small to large trees from 20 to 100 ft tall with broad trunks and compact tops.
• The trees have a distinctive appearance. All baobabs look like they have been turned upside down, with their roots reaching for the sky.
• Baobab trees can live for more than a thousand years and are perhaps among the oldest living things on the planet.

Distribution:

• Baobab trees are native to mainland Africa and the island country of Madagascar.
• Mandu, in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, is perhaps the only place in India where baobab trees are found in abundance.
• Aside from Mandu where it is most abundant, baobab trees have also been recorded in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, Wai in Maharashtra and some other places.

Uses:

• The tree has medicinal properties and provides some income for the Bhil community, which sells its fruits and seeds to local traders.

Significance:

• Baobabs are known as the ‘tree of life’ because it is able to store water from the rains in their vast trunk and produce a nutrient-dense fruit in the dry season when the land turns arid

PRACTICE QUESTION:

With reference to ‘Baobab Trees’, consider the following statements

1. They are tropical evergreen trees

2. Madhya Pradesh is the only state in India where baobab trees are found in abundance

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer