Adansonia digitata
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Species name: Adansonia digitata
Adansonia digitata, the baobab, is the most widespread of the Adansonia species on the African continent, found in the hot, dry savannahs of sub-Saharan Africa. It also grows, having spread secondary to cultivation, in populated areas. In India, the tree is found in hot, dry regions of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. (Source:Wikipedia,Plants of India)
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- Species identity and nomenclature
- Current Wikipedia entry
- Binomial Classification
- Morphological features
- Habitat and Geographical Spread
- Maps
- Medicinal Importance
- Cultural significance
- Commercial importance and cultivation
- Summary of PubMed articles
- Summary of NCBI molecular data
- External Links
- Images and Videos
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Names of users who have contributed to this species page | Gauravm | |
| Date on which this page was first created | 2010/05/20 | |
| This page was last modified on: | 20 March 2011 23:49:28 | |
| Name of the species | Adansonia digitata | |
| ID on Encyclopedia of Life | 584789 | |
| Synonyms | Please check Binomial Classification section for synonyms. | |
| Common English Names | Baobab | |
| Common Hindi Names | Gorakh imli गोरख इमली | |
| Common Indian names | ದೊಡ್ದಹುನುಸೆ Doddahunuse (Kannada);Gorakh imli गोरख इमली (Hindi); Gorakh chinch गोरख चिंच (Marathi); Bukha (Gujarati); Brahmaaamlika (Telugu);Gadhagachh (Bengali); Papparappuli பப்பரப்புளி (Tamil); Sarpadandi (Sanskrit) | Flowers of India,Hindu News |
| Origins/Meanings of the common names | The name Adansonia honours Michel Adanson, the French naturalist and explorer who described A. digitata. The specific epithet digitata refers to the fingers of a hand, which the five leaflets (typically) in each cluster bring to mind. | Wikipedia |
Taxonomy from Encyclopedia of Life
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{{#EoLOnlyHierarchy:584789}}
Taxonomy filled in form
Click here for the PDF of the phylogeny
| Taxon | Value |
|---|---|
| Regnum (Kingdom) | Plantae |
| Division | Magnoliophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Order | Malvales |
| Family | Bombacaceae |
| Genus | Adansonia |
| Source of data | ' |
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| Division | Taxon details | Taxon morphology details |
|---|---|---|
| Magnoliophyta | Also called Angiospermae. The ancestors of flowering plants diverged from gymnosperms around 245–202 million years ago, and the first flowering plants known to exist are from 140 million years ago. They diversified enormously during the Lower Cretaceous and became widespread around 100 million years ago, but replaced conifers as the dominant trees only around 60-100 million years ago. | These are seed plants like Gymnosperms, but can be differentiated by the presence of flowers, seeds containing endosperm and seeds that produce a fruit. Angiosperms are the most diverse and highly evolutionarily successful group of land plants. |
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| Class | Taxon details | Taxon morphology details |
|---|---|---|
| Magnoliopsida | Magnoliopsida is the scientific name for dicots. This class contains about ~1,99,350 species of Angiosperms. Eudicots are a subset of Dicots. Based on chloroplast DNA sequences, the divergence date between monocots and dicots is estimated to be ~200 million years, with a 40 million years uncertainty. | Dicots are diverse in habit, with half of all the species being more or less woody-stemmed - a reflection of the usual presence of a vascular cambium in the class. Annuals, biennials, vines, epiphytes, aquatics, parasites, and saprotrophs are also well represented in dicots. Vascular bundles of the stem are usually borne in a ring that encloses the pith. Vessel elements present except in some putatively primitive woody or aquatic families. Most dicots have a primary root system derived from the radicle, although some have an adventitious root system commonly seen in the class of monocots. Cotyledons are usually 2, seldom 1, 3, or 4. Leaves are mostly net-veined. |
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Based on classification
More details can be found in the Binomial Classification section.
Morphology from Encyclopedia of Life
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General morphology
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| General morphological features of the plant | The trees usually grow as solitary individuals, and are large and distinctive trees on the savannah, in the scrub, and near settled areas, with some large individuals living to well over a thousand years of age.The tree bears very large, heavy white flowers. The showy flowers are pendulous with a very large number of stamens. They carry a carrion scent and researchers have shown they appear to be primarily pollinated by fruit bats of the subfamily Pteropodinae. The fruits are filled with pulp that dries, hardens, and falls to pieces which look like chunks of powdery, dry bread."The trees usually grow as solitary individuals, and are large and distinctive trees on the savannah, in the scrub, and near settled areas, with some large individuals living to well over a thousand years of age.The tree bears very large, heavy white flowers. The showy flowers are pendulous with a very large number of stamens. They carry a carrion scent and researchers have shown they appear to be primarily pollinated by fruit bats of the subfamily Pteropodinae. The fruits are filled with pulp that dries, hardens, and falls to pieces which look like chunks of powdery, dry bread." cannot be used as a page name in this wiki. | Wikipedia |
| Seed dispersal mechanism | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bloom type | Perennial | |
| Life cycle of the plant |
How to identify this species
For a detailed description, refer to the General Morphology details above
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Type of plant | Woody (Tree/Shrub) | |
| Plant height | More than 10 feet | Wikipedia |
| Flower color | White | Wikipedia |
| Flower shape | ||
| Floral symmetry | ||
| Phyllotaxy of leaves | ||
| Leaf shape | ||
| Is the leaf petiolated or sessile? | ||
| Is the leaf simple or compound? |
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| IUCN Conservation Status | ||
| Indian States in which the species has been documented | Andhra Pradesh,Bihar,Goa,Gujarat,Karnataka,Maharashtra,Rajasthan,Tamil Nadu,Uttar Pradesh,West Bengal | Plants of India |
| Locations at which the species has been documented | ||
| Biotic zones inhabited | Central Deccan Plateau | |
| Details about the habitat | ||
| Is this species native to India? | ||
| Is the species indigenous/endemic to Sub-Himalayan regions? | ||
| Is the species indigenous/endemic to Western Ghats? | ||
| Is the species indigenous/endemic to Eastern Ghats? |
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Plant is not native or native status not filled in |
If no maps are displayed below, it means the required data is absent. Click on "Edit with form" button on top of the page to add this information.
{{#generateMap:Andhra Pradesh,Bihar,Goa,Gujarat,Karnataka,Maharashtra,Rajasthan,Tamil Nadu,Uttar Pradesh,West Bengal|Adansonia_digitata_brahma.svg|align=center}}
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Does this species have any medicinal use? | Yes |
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Other plants of the same family having medicinal use:
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| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| General types of ailments this species is used for treating | ||
| Specific ailments for which the species is used | ||
| Medicinal systems which use this plant | Folk Medicine | GRIN |
| Details of Medicinal use | This plant is mostly used in African countries as a folk medicine. Not in India. | |
| Parts of the plant used for treatment | Fruit, Seeds | |
| Names of some medicinal active compounds in this plant, if known. | ||
| Details of the active chemical compounds found in this plant | ||
| Is the molecular basis of the medicinal action known? | ||
| Details of molecular basis of action | ||
| Are the toxic effects of consumption of this plant known? | ||
| Details of the toxic effects of the plant species | ||
| Have there been validation/clinical studies related to this plant? | ||
| Details of the clinical studies related to the plant species |
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Is this plant/plant-derived product used in food preparations? | Yes | User-reported |
| Part(s) of the plant used in the food preparations | Fruit, Seeds | |
| Details of use in food preparations | Mostly this tree is found in Africa and in dry, arid areas. In Africa, the fruit and seed are used in food preparations and for making beverages. The African baobab's fruit (6 to 8 inches or 15 to 20 centimetres long) has twice as much calcium as milk, is high in anti-oxidants, iron and potassium, and has 6 times the vitamin C of an orange. The leaves can be eaten as relish, while the fruit dissolved in milk or water can be used as a drink. The seeds also produce edible oil. (Source: Wikipedia)
In 2008, the European Union approved the use and consumption of baobab fruit as an ingredient in smoothies and cereal bars. The United States Food and Drug Administration granted generally recognized as safe status to baobab dried fruit pulp as a food ingredient in 2009. A nonprofit organization, PhytoTrade Africa, plans to market the fruit for the benefit of around 2.5 million of the poorest families in southern Africa. |
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| Does this species have any religious significance? | No | User-reported |
| Religions which mention/give significance to this species | Wikipedia | |
| Religious occasions | ||
| Details of religious use |
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Is this plant cultivated commercially in India? | Yes | Wikipedia |
| Uses for which the plant is commercially cultivated | Human consumption, Medicinal use | |
| Plant parts of commercial value | Fruit, Seeds | |
| Products where this plant is used | User-reported | |
| Description of use | Mostly this tree is found in Africa and in dry, arid areas. In Africa, the fruit and seed are used in food preparations and for making beverages. The African baobab's fruit (6 to 8 inches or 15 to 20 centimetres long) has twice as much calcium as milk, is high in anti-oxidants, iron and potassium, and has 6 times the vitamin C of an orange. The leaves can be eaten as relish, while the fruit dissolved in milk or water can be used as a drink. The seeds also produce edible oil.
In 2008, the European Union approved the use and consumption of baobab fruit as an ingredient in smoothies and cereal bars. The United States Food and Drug Administration granted generally recognized as safe status to baobab dried fruit pulp as a food ingredient in 2009. A nonprofit organization, PhytoTrade Africa, plans to market the fruit for the benefit of around 2.5 million of the poorest families in southern Africa. |
Wikipedia |
| States where this plant is cultivated commercially | ||
| Best period for planting this plant | ||
| Best period for harvesting this plant | ||
| Method of propagation | ||
| Water requirement of this plant | Low | |
| Pests and Diseases affecting this plant during cultivation | ||
| Other considerations while cultivating this plant |
Pubmed Word cloud
This word cloud is obtained using the tool LigerCat by searching the Pubmed database. LigerCat builds the cloud from the most relevant Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms. Each term's relative size indicates how many times it appears in the PubMed search results. Click on a term to access the full LigerCat cloud, with live PubMed search capabilities. LigerCat has been developed for the Biology of Aging Project.
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- If there is an error message below, it means that there is no retrievable information available on NCBI
- If the number of nucleotide sequences is less than 100, very little genomic work has been done on this species. A respectable number of nucleotide sequences is above 10000.
- Most of the nucleotide sequences may come from three sources:
- Studies on single genes, where people try to sequence genes such as some specific dehydrogenases important,say, for tannin production
- Sequences of Ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacer, whose sequence is used for generating molecular phylogenetic trees to establish species relationships
- Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) which can tell about which genes are present and expressed in the species at a particular time in the given tissue
{{#queryDB:taxonomy |Adansonia digitata }}
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Details of modern scientific knowledge available for this species | Mostly microsatellite markers are available. | NCBI Taxonomy |
| Are herbarium specimen available for this species? | No | |
| Institutes having herbarium samples |
If nothing is displayed in this section, it means the EoL ID has not been defined. Please click on Edit with form button on top and follow the instructions for filling in the EoL ID
{{#EoLOnlyAdditionalInfo:584789}}
References
HinduNews (Web): Rare, endangered tree found in Belgaum district, Accessdate=2010-08-19
Plants of India (Web): Plants of India entry, Accessdate=2011-03-20
Wikipedia (Web): Wikipedia entry on Baobab, Accessdate=2011-0.-20
FoI (Web): Flowers of India, Accessdate=2011-03-20
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