The Baobabs: Pachycauls of Africa, Madagascar and Australia
Abstract
First and only fully comprehensive account of all eight species of Adansonia Contains much new information Highly interesting for scientists, academics and laypeople This is the only comprehensive account of all eight species in the genus Adansonia. It describes the historical background from the late Roman period to the present. It covers the extraordinary variety of economic uses of baobabs, famous trees, folk traditions and mythology, art associations, life cycle, natural history, cultivation, conservation, distribution and ecology, and phytogeography. There are also appendices on vernacular names, gazetteer, economics, nutrition and forest mensuration. This book fills a gap in the botanical literature. It deals with a genus that has fascinated and intrigued scientists and lay persons for centuries. It will appeal to scientists and academics as well as tropical horticulturalists, conservationists and general interest readers. It includes all the available scientific information about each of the eight species, and contains a good deal of original research on the history, ethnobotany and biology of the genus. There is even a chapter devoted to areas where further research is required. © 2008 Springer Science + Business Media, B.V. All rights reserved.
Chapters (13)
There are eight species of Adansonia. One, Adansonia digitata, is indigenous to, and widely distributed through, the savannas and savanna woodlands of the sub-Saharan Africa. It was the first to be discovered and is by far the best documented. There are six species in western and southern Madagascar, Adansonia grandidieri, Adansonia suarezensis, Adansonia rubrostipa, Adansonia perrieri, Adansonia madagascariensis and Adansonia za, while the eighth species, A. gregorii, is restricted to north-west Australia. This chapter deals with our present-day knowledge of the discovery of these trees. There is less information available for some species than others; most is known about A. digitata.
In Europe the first published illustrations for A. digitata and A. rubrostipa appeared at the end of the 16th century (Alpino 1592; Lodewijcksz 1597). The fruit of A. digitata attracted wide attention among the learned but A. rubrostipa, the tree, was ignored. Both trees, if noticed at all, were regarded as curiosities, serving as landmarks for sailors and travellers, and bearers of their graffiti.
Nobody travelling through the regions where baobabs grow could fail to see and recognise such large and often grotesque trees dominating the landscape. They act as signposts along the road and markers of former battles, historical meetings, etc. Others are adorned with the names, initials and graffiti of early explorers and traders, and are therefore of obvious interest to historians. Other trees are of religious or mystical significance and are the subject of legend and folklore and of many a traveller’s tale; these are dealt with in Chapter 3. Their stories have been handed down verbally and have varied somewhat in their telling.
The baobabs are an object of folklore and fetish throughout Africa, Madagascar and Australia. Africa is the best documented, although there is a noticeable shortage of stories from the Sahel, which is probably attributable to the Moslem influence from the 14th century onwards, when stories associated with the African spirit world were discouraged. These tales have been passed on verbally from one generation to another and, over the years, may have changed both in their telling and collecting.
The baobabs are trees of considerable importance in local economies (see Appendix 2). Their use as food and drink for human beings and feed for livestock will be discussed here, their nutritional values in Appendix 3, and medicinal and other uses in Chapters 5 and 6.
The use of a plant is, like that of any other product, governed by custom, need and availability. Thus, the indigenous population of Gabon made little use of the baobab, which had been introduced, because they were unfamiliar with its qualities (Walker 1953). The choice of what is used reflects the quantity and seasonal availability, the economics in monetary or non-monetary terms, and the relative advantages and disadvantages of the available alternatives. The baobabs are no exception to this law of supply and demand. Thus, because of its relative rarity the baobab is little exploited in Dhofar, Oman (Miller and Morris 1988), while in Madagascar, despite their relative abundance, the baobabs have fewer uses than the baobabs in Africa and Australia.
In order to understand these regional differences it is necessary to consider the cultural development of a nation before the influence of European culture. In Africa the baobab is widespread through the savannas and semi-arid regions. The range of uses and demands on the baobab increases towards the semi-arid regions of the Sahel and Kalahari because there are relatively few alternatives available.
The first inhabitants of Madagascar are believed to have arrived from Indonesia in the 2nd century BC (Straka 1996), although some writers claim that they did not come until AD 300–800. It was then a fertile and well-vegetated country, agriculture was productive and the people relatively sophisticated. The relative abundance of natural resources meant that the baobabs were not a vital resource, and this is suggested as the reason for the relatively little use made of them. The eight species of Adansonia are sufficiently similar for the Madagascar species to have all or most of the same potential uses as A. digitata and A. gregorii, had there been a need.
The baobabs are spectacular trees, often with evocative local names. They are an inspiration to artists, photographers, writers and advertising agents. The baobab is widely used as a motif on stamps, coins, bank notes, medals and the like. It has lent its name and shape to tourist agents, hotels, restaurants, cafes, publishers and other businesses; a school, École française le Baobab, at Bafoussam, Cameroon, an oilfield 25 km off Ivory Coast, an organisation called Baobab for Woman’s Human Rights based in Lagos, and a network learning facility. In Senegal there was the popular Afro-Latin band known as Orchestra Baobab, formed in 1970 and disbanded in 1987, while from Guinea there is the Circus Baobab which tours Europe. In Cameroon, according to Farenkia (2005), to call a person a baobab is to praise him for some outstanding achievement, while in South Africa, baobab is an acronym for somebody who is ‘bald and old, buggered and broke’ (Mayne 2007, personal communication). There is even a computer virus called Baobab.
The famous Avenue des Baobabs near Morondava features in several advertisements, including one for the Renault car.
Since 1960 Derby, Western Australia, has held an annual Boab Festival providing amenities and entertainment, and giving publicity to the region.
The large size and reputed longevity of the baobabs has intrigued many but what are the facts regarding its growth and reproduction?
It was Aristotle’s disciple and successor, Theophrastus of Eresos (370-c.285 BC), who, in his De Historia Plantarum, coined the term ‘pachycaul’ (from the Greek: pachycaulos), meaning ‘thick stem’ (Liddell and Scott 1940). Theophrastus had inherited Aristotle’s botanic garden in Athens and it was there, while brooding over the characteristics of some 500 or so plants, that he conceived the basics of plant morphology. His concepts and terminology remained essentially unchanged and scarcely enlarged for some 19 centuries, until the development of the magnifying lens and microscope (Stearn 1992).
Pachycauls, with their abnormally swollen trunks, are often referred to as ‘bottle trees’ or ‘bottle lianas’. Pachycauls establish themselves by robust growth but are expensive to maintain (Corner 1964).
The baobab is instantly recognisable, yet few people have paid any attention to the fauna and flora associated with this island ecosystem. For example, the numerous micro-organisms involved in the decay of fallen trees are unknown. Conspicuous and, in the drier regions, often the only sizeable tree available, it is no wonder that it should harbour a rich fauna. The hollows in the trunk are obvious lairs for many mammals and reptiles, while the spreading branches attract nesting birds. The nooks and crannies of the lumpy bark harbour an abundant insect life, yet much remains unrecorded.
Many animals will eat the fruit contents once the outer shell has withered and broken, and may thereby assist in seed dispersal. The large baobab fruits offer several rewarding opportunities to animals. They contain a nutritious pulp and numerous seeds, but the seeds develop relatively late in the growth of the fruit, thereby reducing the nutritional value of immature fruit. However, in Madagascar especially, the fleshy pedicel offers an alternative food resource, and both lemurs and parrots have been observed investigating the immature fruit between September and November when other fruits and leaves are scarce. Many immature fruits are discarded once the pedicel has been chewed or the pulp and young seeds eaten from the fruit hanging on the tree (Du Puy 1996b). Such activities must have an adverse affect on natural regeneration, although it must be borne in mind that a very low recruitment is required to maintain a species with an individual life expectancy of 1,000 years or more.
The taxa mentioned in this chapter represent a minute fraction of the flora and fauna hosted by the baobabs.
The baobabs are noted for their longevity but are they under threat?
Within an ecosystem there are numerous biological interactions between different members of the flora and fauna, weaving a complex web of interrelationships upon which the overall stability of the ecosystem is believed to partly depend. No species survives in isolation; each plays a part within an intricate mesh of organisms. Those organisms that were entirely dependent on a species that is now lost will also become extinct and, since nature abhors a vacuum, others will fill their place. The balance among the remaining organisms will be adjusted to meet the change. Our present state of knowledge of the interdependency of organisms and their roles within an ecosystem is minimal. We therefore destroy a species at our peril (Wickens 2001).
In his ‘keystone mutualism’ concept, Gilbert (1980) stresses the importance of some organisms in stabilising a given ecosystem. Thus, if an individual organism is the only available source of a particular resource upon which other organisms rely, the extinction of that source could have a destabilising effect throughout the ecosystem. Keystone plant species can be defined as those species that provide essential resources, such as food or shelter, for a guild of animals in return for which the guild of animals provides an essential service, or mobile links, such as pollination or diaspore dispersal. For example, the baobabs play an important biological role in the conservation of ecosystems of which lemurs, sunbirds and hawk moths are important constituents (Baum 1996).
People often think that baobabs are unsuitable trees for cultivation because of their slow growth. Nevertheless they do get planted, but not as widely as they deserve. For example, Sidibé et al. (1996) reported that villagers in Burkina Faso often planted baobabs along their field boundaries. Indeed, they planted 4,433 baobabs from nurseries funded by Tree Aid in 2003 (Ouedraogo 2004). Young trees grafted from elite trees with desirable characteristics develop faster than trees grown from seed. There are good possibilities for their future vegetative cultivation and the commercialisation of their products.
Baobabs are also cultivated in botanic gardens in both tropical and temperate countries. Three specimens of A. digitata, two of A. rubrostipa and one A. za are growing in glasshouses at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
In this chapter we consider the position of Adansonia in the family of flowering plants and the definition and naming of its constituent species.
Most families are easily recognised natural groupings of descendants from a common ancestor. Molecular DNA and RNA sequence data, used in conjunction with parsimony algorithms to compare and group taxa, have provided a better understanding of the relationships of living organisms. In the last decade molecular data have suggested many novel relationships, and have also revealed that some past groupings are artificial. Such a system at the ordinal level based upon molecular data was recently proposed and accepted. In the light of recent phylogenetic studies involving molecular, morphological and biogeographical data, the four closely related traditional families of Bombacaceae, Malvaceae, Sterculiaceae and Tiliaceae constitute the core Malvales. These are now placed in the Malvaceae sensu lato, reflecting their phylogeny as ancestors of the Malvaceae (Judd and Manchester 1997; Alverson et al. 1998, 1999; Angiosperm Phylogeny Group 1998; Bayer et al. 1999).
The natural distribution of the baobabs is, because of their longevity, often difficult to distinguish from introductions by man. The question often arises as to which came first, the tree or the village.
A great deal is now known about the baobabs but as this compilation has shown, there are still very large gaps in our knowledge. Some questions are raised here but those readers with a more intimate knowledge of the disciplines discussed in the text may ask others.
The early Egyptian and Turkish medical books should be examined for early references to the baobab fruit. What names were used for the fruit?
Süleymân the Magnificent presented baobab fruits and terra lemnia as gifts to departing dignitaries. Did the Turks know of the baobab’s medicinal qualities, or did the fruit have a scarcity value? Both gifts were readily available to Süleymân since both Egypt and Limnos were within the Ottoman Empire.
... After 18 weeks, no seedling from the present study area had any compound leaf, when comparing with Mali all seedlings had some compound leaves (30-69% of compound leaves). Wickens and Lowe (2008) noted that Baobab seedling's first leaves are simple, followed by digitate leaves with progressively more leaflets, up to 5-7(-9), with adult trees always having compound leaves. It has been reported that some baobab seedlings produce compound leaves sooner than others, with some saplings having simple leaves for years (Wickens and Lowe, 2008). ...
... Wickens and Lowe (2008) noted that Baobab seedling's first leaves are simple, followed by digitate leaves with progressively more leaflets, up to 5-7(-9), with adult trees always having compound leaves. It has been reported that some baobab seedlings produce compound leaves sooner than others, with some saplings having simple leaves for years (Wickens and Lowe, 2008). ...
... The role of the taproot as a survival organ for first-year droughts has been suggested by Van den Bilcke et al. (2013) as well as Venter & Witkowski (2013). While adult baobab trees accumulate water in their stem, baobab seedlings use the taproot as main storing organ (Wickens and Lowe, 2008). The first weeks after germination, seedlings capitalized mainly in fine roots and leaves, in addition to seedlings with relatively smaller taproots, because they can have both more water stored and/or more carbohydrate reserves. ...
Baobab (Adansonia digitata L.), seedlings produce a strong prominent taproot, which are known to form root tubers. Baobab domestication is imperative to safeguard its sustainable utilization. Nevertheless, little is known about their growth features and its yield potential. Baobab seedlings develop a tuber-like or taproot which can be consumed as a vegetable. The study aimed to investigate the yield potential of baobab root tubers and number of leaves and the assess variation of fruit types on root development in a nursery trial at five locations in Blue Nile, West and North Kordofan state, Sudan. The collected data included shoot length, stem diameter, number of leaves, taproot length, taproot diameter and root length content. One-way ANOVA showed that that there were significant differences (P≤ 0.05) between studied sites on any of the measured plant growth parameters. Seedlings invested mainly into taproot development during the growth period, with root tubers reaching an average length of 8.13±4.96 cm at 126 days after sowing. Seedlings from El Roseires had longer shoot, tuber, root length, larger number of leaves, stem diameter and tuber diameter. Globose and oblong fruit shape, had variable growth larger than those compared to ovate, obovate, crescent shapes and ellipsoid fruit types. Though, the heterogeneity of root tuber growth by way of affected by abiotic and water availability, as well as genetic origin permit additional study.
... 116 Throughout Africa the baobab is regarded with awe by most indigenous people; some even consider it bewitched. 117 Almost all parts of the tree are used in traditional medicine in Africa although this varies from one country to another. In some countries in West Africa, the leaves, fruit pulp, and seeds are the main ingredients in sauces, porridge, and beverages. ...
... Baobab leaves ( Figure 8) are used medicinally as a diaphoretic, an astringent, an expectorant, and as a prophylactic against fever. 117 Leaves are used to treat kidney and bladder diseases, asthma, general fatigue, diarrhoea, inflammations, insect bites, and guinea worm. 117 Its reported use as a tonic is evident as it is consumed by 25% of pregnant women in this research. ...
... 117 Leaves are used to treat kidney and bladder diseases, asthma, general fatigue, diarrhoea, inflammations, insect bites, and guinea worm. 117 Its reported use as a tonic is evident as it is consumed by 25% of pregnant women in this research. Leaves contain protein, lipids, carbohydrates, ash, vitamin C, traces of calcium, phosphorus, and mucilage. ...
Normal growth and development of the foetus during pregnancy are dependent on the general well-being of the expectant mother since she is the source of all the nutrients the foetus requires. Using a semi-structured questionnaire, data was collected from 370 self-confessed pregnant women from 28 randomly sampled suburbs of Tamale, the only city in northern Ghana to ascertain edible plants they use for preparation of meals during their period of pregnancy and the purposes for which they use these plants. Eighteen plant materials were reportedly used by these women for culinary purposes during pregnancy with the processed fermented seeds of Parkia biglobosa (Dawadawa), leaves of Amaranthus cruentus, Corchorus olitorious, Hibiscus sabdariffa, and the rhizome of Zingiber officinale being used by more than 70% of the respondents. However, Garlic (Allium sativum) and Ginger (Zingiber officinale) were the most used plant materials. The most important plant
families were Malvaceae (23.0%) and Fabaceae (17.0%). Provision of good health and vitality, source of nutrients, and serving as a blood tonic were the most common reasons for the use of these plant materials for cooking and preparation of local beverages but Allium sativum was reportedly used to spiritually protect the pregnancy. Results of proximate analysis and pharmacological experiments from literature support the various purposes for which these women were using these plant materials as they are found safe for the health of mother and child and do not pose any danger to their health. There is currently no publication on culinary plants used among pregnant women from northern Ghana which in the Guinea savanna ecological zone different from that of southern Ghana. This study should increase advocacy for the increased use of these edible plant materials among pregnant women which can lead to a reduction in maternal and child mortality in Ghana
... Despite having bisexual flowers, baobabs 7 are mostly self-incompatible, depending on external pollinators for successful fertilization 8 12,13 . In natural populations, A digitata is primarily pollinated by bats 14,15 , with occasional 9 visits by bushbabies 16 , and hawkmoths in southern Africa 13 . Since A. digitata is an obligate 10 outcrosser, the populations harbor a high level of diversity, which is observed as 11 heterozygosity in the genome 13,17 . ...
... impede initiatives aimed at pre-breeding and genetic characterization 18,19 . 14 15 Despite the baobab tree's remarkable ability to thrive in harsh environments with less than 16 500 mm of annual rainfall and sandy, rocky soils, recent reports suggest elevated mortality in 17 the oldest trees 9,20 . A 1,400 year old tree called Chapman baobab in the Makgadikgadi 18 Pans (MP) National Park of Botswana, thought to be the cradle of Homo sapiens 21 , 19 suddenly died on January 7, 2016 along with eight other historic baobabs, including the 20 oldest known baobab, Panke 9 . ...
... represent the point of whole genome duplication, while images on the right show the plant's 13 inflorescence. 14 15 Evidence of an ancient WGD event in baobab genome 16 We performed comparative genomics of the baobab genomes Ad77271a, Ad77271b, AdKB, 17 ...
Baobab, Adansonia digitata , is a long-lived tree endemic to Africa that holds great economic, ecological, and cultural value. However, our knowledge of its genomic features, evolutionary history, and diversity is limited, rendering it orphaned scientifically. We generated a haploid chromosome-level reference genome anchored into 42 chromosomes for A. digitata , as well as draft assemblies for a sibling tree, two trees from distinct locations in Africa, and a related species, A. za from Madagascar. Unlike any other plant to date, DNA transposable elements (TEs) make up 33% of the A. digitata genome compared to only 10% long terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTR-RTs), which are usually predominant in plant genomes. Baobab has undergone a whole genome duplication (WGD) shared with the Malvoideae ∼30 million years ago (MYA), as well as a confirmed autotetraplody event 3-4 million MYA that coincides with the most recent burst of TE insertions. Resequencing 25 A. digitata trees from Africa revealed three subpopulations that suggest gene flow through most of West Africa but separated from East Africa. Gene enrichment analysis for baobab-specific and high fixation index (Fst) suggested baobab may have retained multiple copies of circadian, light and growth genes to coordinate genome protection for longevity through the UV RESISTANCE LOCUS 8 ( UVR8 ) and synchronizing flower development with pollinators. This study lays the groundwork for the creation of breeding resources and the conservation of baobab biodiversity.
... The Adansonia genus, which belongs to the Bombacoideae subfamily of Malvaceae, is represented by eight or nine species. One or two species are endemic to the tropical arid savanna of the African continent, six species have a natural distribution in Madagascar, while one species is found in Australia [1][2][3][4][5]. ...
... The Grandidier baobab, named Reniala by natives (in Masikoro, i.e., "Mother of the Forest"), is the largest and most famous of the six Malagasy species. According to the classical description, A. grandidieri is represented by big trees with massive cylindrical trunks and flat-topped crowns with almost horizontal large branches [1,2,4]. However, the shape and dimensions of mature and old individuals exhibit considerable variation and the differences depend especially on their location. ...
... AMS Radiocarbon dating results and calibrated ages of samples collected from the Egg baobab Depth in the wood from the sampling point.2 Height above ground level. ...
... The group of tree or pachycaul succulents is represented by plants from the genus Pachypodium, which are part of the subfamily Apocynoideae (Rowley, 1999;Wickens et al., 2008;Hearn, 2009). Study of the anatomy and morphology of pachycaudal representatives from the genera Pachypodium, as well as pachycaudal succulents from other genera Adansonia L. (Malvaceae), Cyphostemma (Planch.) ...
... (Moringaceae), found that in addition to cortex parenchyma growth, they are also characterized by the formation of "juicy wood" formed due to the functioning of the cambium, which, in addition to tracheal elements, forms a large number of thin-walled xylem parenchyma cells. Water and nutrients accumulate in these parenchyma cells, like in parenchyma cells of the cortex (Olson & Carlquist, 2001;Olson, 2003;Chapotin et al., 2003Chapotin et al., , 2006Wickens & Lowe, 2008). More detailed anatomical and morphological studies of pachycaul plants of the Apocynaceae family were conducted, only on the example of several taxa of the genus Pachypodium (P. ...
In the course of evolution, the formation of succulent variations in the underground and surface parts of plants in different taxa could occur simultaneously under the influence of similar abiotic factors, in particular as an adaptation to arid conditions, and similar structural features even in distant families are a manifestation of convergent evolution. Along with this, the development of such adaptive structures in ontogeny can occur in different ways in different taxa. Studying the anatomical and morphological features of the vegetative organs of Fockea edulis (Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae) at the early stages of ontogenesis and comparing them with those of other plants will improve the understanding of the features of growth and development of caudex-like plants. The research was conducted on seedlings, juvenile and immature plants of F. edulis. When comparing the features of the development of vegeta-tive parts of three representatives of the Apocynaceae family, we found that the strategy of succulent traits development in F. edulis at the organ level is characterized by the active development of the hypocotyl already at the seedling stage, similar to Adenium obesum, and the subsequent formation of an expanded basal part of the stem due to the combined cortex-pith thickening and radish-like root due to the growth of xylem parenchyma. However, Petopentia natalensis is characterized by a mesophytic seedling. It was estab-lished that secondary thickening in the basal part of the stem occurs in two individual ways: in Adenium obesum, the cambium gene-rates solid rings of phloem and parenchymatized xylem; in P. natalensis and F. edulis, the bundle type of conducting elements is preserved. The thickening of the tap root in F. edulis is similar to that in A. obesum.
... The recruitment of baobabs in the CSA (without elephants) was low (reflected by low numbers in the small size classes), this could be attributed to several establishment factors. Such factors include lack of frugivorous species, for example, the baboon mediated seed dispersal, where a low baboon population in an area may result in low seed dispersal (Wickens and Lowe, 2008). This is true for the CSA which has a relatively low baboon population (Gobiye, 2005). ...
... In contrast, in the CSA, baobab fruits were abundant on trees and on the ground. Furthermore, topography could be negatively affecting baobab recruitment in CSA (Fig. S3), because the steep slopes lead to easy washing away of seeds during the rainy season (Wickens and Lowe, 2008). Unlike the observations in Venter & Witkowski, (2011) that baboons feeding on immature fruit reduces fruit production and hence likely to impact recruitment, the high baboon population in SVC did not appear to negatively impact recruitment. ...
The impacts of the expanding African elephant (Loxodonta africana) population in southern Africa leads to a shift in savanna vegetation community composition and structure. However, little has been done to understand the effect of elephants on the structure of keystone tree species like the baobab. We sampled two protected areas in Southeast lowveld of Zimbabwe to quantify the impact of elephants on the baobab (Adansonia digitata L.), one area with elephants (Save Valley Conservancy: SVC) and the other without elephants (Chipinge Safari Area: CSA). Data on elephant damage, baobab density, and structural variables (tree height, stem basal area, and canopy cover) were collected in seven 1 km2 plots. Baobab damage was classed into four categories, i) new, ii) old, iii) very old, and iv) none, to have a time series interpretation. Distances of every baobab tree from spatial variables, nearest management road, perennial water source and conservancy boundary were measured. Baobabs in the absence of elephants (CSA) were taller with higher basal area and canopy cover than those where elephants were present (SVC). Although SVC baobabs had smaller structural variables compared with CSA, their density was much higher 1.69 ha-1 compared with 0.94 ha-1 for CSA. More baobabs in the smaller size classes for SVC suggests that recruitment was higher than CSA. No elephant damage was observed in the CSA although 23 % of baobabs showed signs of very old harvesting of bark by humans. All trees in SVC showed signs of elephant damage in either trunks or canopies, with most of damage classed as very old. Baobab damage decreased with distance from roads and perennial water sources while it increased with distance from conservancy boundary. Our results demonstrate that elephants have a great impact on baobab structure but not necessarily recruitment as indicated by the presence of some baobabs in smaller size classes, suggesting that other factors may be more important in determining recruitment of this keystone species.
... However, recent dating indicates that baobabs evolved after the breakup of Gondwana. Current theory therefore argues for long-distance oceanic dispersal following an origin on the African mainland with subsequent radiation and speciation, notably in Madagascar where the maximum species diversity currently resides (Wickens & Lowe 2008). ...
... The wood is spongy and hence unsuitable for timber, but does have some constructional uses, e.g. for light-weight canoes. Fresh leaves but esp. the fruits are a rich source of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) (Wickens & Lowe 2008). ...
... Rural populations in Africa particularly depend on the baobab for its nutritional and medicinal products (Buchmann et al., 2010). Additionally, the baobab fruit pulp is marketed in Europe and the United States (CEC, 2008;FDA, 2009) where the pulp is used in the different industrial sectors: cosmetics, food, and medicine (Sanchez, 2011;Wickens, 2008). The baobab is also vital for wildlife, providing food, water and shelter, and it enhances savannah site conditions (Amundson, Ali, & Belsky, 1995). ...
Climate change is likely to affect the distribution of species worldwide. Understanding how these changes affect species distribution is important for planning conservation strategies and sustainable management methods. Adansonia digitata L. is of major ecological and socioeconomic importance in Malawi, South Africa, but is highly threatened in its habitat. This work aims to investigate the effect of climate change on the ecological niche of Baobab and to find suitable habitats for its conservation and cultivation in Malawi. The distribution of this species was modeled using a maximum entropy algorithm (MaxEnt) based on 21 environmental variables and the occurrence of 480 species. Habitat prioritization was performed using Zonation software. Our results show that the variable contributing most significantly was the warmest month (47%), followed by isotherms (13.9%) and precipitation of the coldest quarter (8.6%). Under the current model, 1.17% of Malawi's territory is highly favorable for baobab development. A slight increase of 0.09% and 0.38% in highly favorable zones is predicted by 2055 under scenarios SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5, respectively. Southern Malawi and parts of the Central region should be prioritized in baobab reforestation policies to optimize conservation and value chain sustainability for baobab. Under the current model, 1.17% of Malawi will be highly favorable for baobab. A slight increase of 0.09 % and 0.38 % in highly favorable zones is predicted by 2055 under scenarios SSP 370 and SSP 585, respectively. Priority areas (98-100%) for conservation and cultivation of Baobab was a male located in the Southern region (34.51%) and central (7.62%), in contrast to the Northern region (0.21%). Our results suggest that climate change causes the reduction and shift of suitable habitats for species along a south-north gradient. These findings highlight the urgent need to incorporate climate change projections into conservation plans. jas.ccsenet.org Journal of Agricultural Science Vol. 16, No. 9; 2024 42 Identifying and prioritizing suitable habitats in the southern and central regions is crucial for effective conservation and sustainability.
... It is a versatile and economic plant which belongs to Bombacaceae family. There are other eight species of Adansonia (Wickens, 2008). All the parts of the plant are utilized as food, medicine and raw materials in industry. ...
Baobab fruit (Adansonia digitata) is an economic crop with anti-oxidant rich pulp. Some physical and mechanical properties of baobab fruit which are relevant to its pulp extraction were determined. The percentage of each component of the fruit was evaluated as well as physical properties such as sizes, shapes and density. Mechanical properties determined were static coefficient of friction, hardness and firmness. The mean value of number of seeds present in baobab fruit was estimated to be 239 seeds. Baobab fruit was found to have 39.60, 3.65, 21.22 and 35.54 % for shell/pod, fibre, pulp and seed respectively. The mean values obtained for length, breadth and thickness of baobab fruit were estimated to be 17.08, 10.04 and 9.63cm while the sphericity, aspect ratio and density could be applied in design and construction baobab pulp extractor.were 0.71, 0.61 and 296.44kg/m 3 respectively. The coefficient of friction of baobab fruit on galvanized, stainless steel, aluminum and mild steel surfaces were 0.373, 0.303, 0.408 and 0.481 while the hardness and firmness of baobab fruit were 1.5kN and 0.53 N/mm respectively. The engineering properties investigated
... The African baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) is the best-known and most widespread of these species. Although it is endemic to the arid savanna of mainland Africa between the latitudes 16º N and 26º S, the African baobab can also be found on several African islands and outside Africa, in different areas throughout the tropics, where it has been introduced [1][2][3][4][5]. ...
... Phytogeography is the study of plant spatial interactions in the present and past. (Wickens, 2008), focusing on explaining the range of plants in terms of origin, dispersal, and evolution (Tekleva et al., 2021). Plants and geographical units are dispersed in a particular pattern on the surface of the earth as a result of numerous environmental variables (Zeb e al., 2021), such as habitat characteristics, hydrology, topography, soil types, and climate change (Badshah et al., 2010;Manan et al., 2020;Pearson & Dawson, 2003). ...
The distribution of plants over the earth's surface is not even or random but follows a particular geographical pattern. The variation in the floristic composition of plants can be attributed to various environmental factors. The current study was conducted in Sialkot, Pakistan, a prominent industrial hub of the country, to assess the impact of industrial pollution on floristic composition. Vegetation was sampled using standard quantitative ecological techniques. A total of 150 quadrats were established across three sites based on pollution gradient. The soil samples from each quadrat were examined using standard laboratory techniques to assess various physicochemical parameters and the concentration of heavy metals. The collected data were analyzed using PCORD and CANOCO software. Our findings indicate that this region exhibits a diverse range of plants from twenty-eight phytogeographic regions, highlighting its rich biodiversity. The most dominant phytogeographic elements were Cosmopolitan (13.3%), followed by Tropical (10.7%) in contrast, the least dominant ones were Western Himalayan, Sub-cosmopolitan, Sino-Japanese, sub-Himalayan, Indo-Chinese, etc., each represented by one member. Poaceae was the dominant family represented by 19 species (13%), followed by Asteraceae 18 (13%). We observed that floristic diversity decreased as we moved from a less polluted area to a more polluted area. In addition, local residents of the region dispose of cow dung and other household waste along the study region. This adds organic matter and heavy pollutants, coupled with industrial waste, to the environment and has a crucial impact on the distribution of phytogeographic elements in this region. Therefore, we believe industrial pollution has a remarkable role in the distribution of phytogeographic elements. It is suggested that Irano-Turanian and Tropical elements distributed in our study should be protected because of their narrow geographic range.
... Baobab Trees (Adansonia spp.) and Ecosystem Services: Baobab trees in African ecosystems act as keystone species by providing various ecosystem services. They store large amounts of water in their trunks, serving as water reservoirs during dry periods, and their presence enhances local biodiversity by providing habitat for numerous species [36]. Mangrove Trees and Coastal Biodiversity: Mangrove trees serve as keystone species in coastal ecosystems by providing critical habitat for a diverse array of species, including fish, crustaceans, and migratory birds. ...
This review article delves into the pivotal role of keystone species in shaping and maintaining the balance of ecosystems. Exploring the historical roots of the keystone species concept, this review discusses their ecological significance, mechanisms of influence, and the far-reaching impacts of their presence or absence. Drawing on examples from terrestrial, aquatic, and forest ecosystems, this paper examine the intricate web of interactions that define keystone species. The article also addresses conservation challenges and opportunities, highlighting the importance of protecting these species to ensure the resilience and sustainability of ecosystems.
... They converted trunks into watercrafts and painted and engraved others for spiritual and ceremonial purposes. They imbued these remarkable trees with story, transforming them into vessels of memory and lore (Baum, 1995;Rangan et al., 2015;Wickens & Lowe, 2008). ...
... More over, the bark contains a white, semi-fluid gum that can be obtained from bark wounds and is used for cleansing sores [2]. A Sufferers of malaria in Africa, India, SriLanka and west Indies are said to consume a mash containing dried baobab bark as a febrifuge in order to treat the fever associated with this illness [3,4]. Fruit Pulp and seeds are widely used for anti-pyretic properties [2]. ...
The present work involved determining the chemical composition and assessing the antioxidant activity of the mucilage contained in baobab leaves and bark. The mucilage from each organ was obtained separately in two beakers by extraction with ethanol and acetone. Phytochemical tests revealed the presence of various families of compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids and tannins in the organic extracts. Antioxidant power was assessedusing the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH-) radical scavenging method, based on determination of the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50).This study shows that the solvent and the plant organ affect antioxidant activity. In fact, for ethanolic and acetonic extracts of leaves, the IC50 value varied respectively between 3.58 and 3.98 mg/mL then between 3.83 and 5.32 mg/mL; while for ethanolic and acetonic extracts of bark, the values found varied respectively between 6.49 and 8.12 mg/mL then between 5.51 and 9.11 mg/mL. These results therefore show that organic leaf extracts have a greater DPPH-radical scavenging capacity than organic bark extracts. However, the most powerful antioxidant power is observed in the ethanolic leaf extracts, where the values found are relatively lower and remain below those of ascorbic acid, the reference reducing compound (IC50 = 4.12 mg/mL).A statistical analysis showed that only the leaves had an influence on antioxidant activity, so baobab leaves could be used as a food additive.
... This was tested and found that an ethanolic extract of the bark improved contractions of heart muscles in rats (Ashorobi and Joda, 1998). The bark, roots, leaves, fruits and seeds are widely used by indigenous peoples for human and animal medicines (Wickens et al. 2008). However, their uses are poorly documented. ...
... The African baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) is certainly the best-known and widespread among these species. It is endemic to the arid savanna of mainland Africa between the latitudes 16º N and 26º S. The African baobab can also be found on several African islands and outside Africa, in different areas throughout the tropics, where it has been introduced [1][2][3][4][5]. ...
... Flowering time for A. digitata varies significantly; in general, flowering can occur at any time except during the peak of the dry season (Baum et al. 1998). Adansonia digitata possesses whitish flowers that open at night and are thought to be primarily pollinated by fruit bats (Baum and Oginuma 1994;Baum 1995;Wickens and Lowe 2008;Raebild et al. 2011;Assogbadjo and Loo 2013). Similarly, two of the Malagasy baobab species are mammal-pollinated (fruit-bats and lemurs), however, the Australian appears to be pollinated by long-tongued hawkmoths (Baum 1995). ...
The results of a Adansonia digitata provenance and clone trials situated in Sadore (Niger) and Samanko (Mali) indicate genetic variation at both provenance level and among clones. There were significant differences among provenances at Sadore in both survival and height by age 10. Differences in survival were very marked, and suggest that provenances ranged from very poorly- to well-adapted to the Samanko site. However, height was weakly and negatively correlated to survival; possibly the trees may have grown slightly taller because of less competition. West African provenances have a tendency towards faster growth than those of East African origin, and the provenances from drier locations tend to be better adapted. While early variation among 4 year-old clones of leaf development, an important production trait, was indicated, future observations at later ages on fruit traits will be required to make valid selection decisions. The reported 10 year-old provenance variation in tree survival and growth suggest valuable gains could be made by selection of the best provenances. Further trials across a wider range of sites, representative of target planting sites are recommended. Both genebanks contain valuable genetic plant materials worth maintaining for further research and development.
... According to Sidibe and Williams (2002), baobabs have an outstanding ability to withstand severe drought and fire, which are two major hazards to plant life in dry areas of Africa. Although baobabs are mostly regarded as fruit-bearing trees, they are multipurpose, widely-used species with medicinal properties, numerous food uses of various plant parts, and bark fibers that are use for a wide range of purposes Dhillion and Gustad, 2004;Wickens and Lowe, 2008). Up to 300 uses of the baobab were documented in Benin, Mali, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa and Senegal across eleven ethnic groups and four agro-ecological zones Buchmann et al., 2010). ...
The indiscriminate discharge of spent engine oil is a major source of soil pollution and the influence of the levels of soil
contamination on the early growth and performance of Adansonia digitata was investigated at the forest nursery for the period of twelve weeks. Contaminated and top soil were collected from mechanic garage and Forest Nursery respectively. An headpan was used to measured the contaminated and top soil at gazetteed ratio such as: T1(1:0) Contaminated soil only, T2(1:1) Contaminated soil andtop soil, T3 (1:2) Contaminated soil and top soil and T4 (0:1) top soil only. Theexperimental set up was laid in completely
randomization design (CRD) with four treatments and five replicates. Morphological attributes such as shoot height, collar diameter and number of leaves were measured fortnightly for the period of twelve (12) weeks. Inferencial statistics such as Analysis of Variance was employed. The findings revealed that T2 (1:1) contaminated soil and top soil had the best growth vigour in terms of shoot height (4.36 cm) and stem diameter (1.34cm) and its leave mumber followed the best (94.6) and there is significant differences at (p>0.05) level of significance. It can be inferred from the study that Adansonia digitata can be planted at mechanic garages and contaminated soil for cleaning the soil pollution and environment. Further research can be intensified for improvement of the species in terms of economics and ecological
benefits it possess.
... Further, a transition has been witnessed from traditional utilization to a higher retail segment (Darr et al., 2020) with more than three hundred products containing baobab as an ingredient being reported in the European market (Gebauer et al., 2014;Meinhold & Darr, 2019). This has provided a vital incentive in the realization of the baobab fruit pulp's economic value, (Gebauer et al., 2014) prompting efforts towards domestication of the tree in countries such as Cairo, Mauritius, Malaya, Java, New Caledonia, Hawaii, Philippines, West Indies, the Antilles, and Guyana (Wickens, 2008). Similarly in the Savannah regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, the baobab fruit pulp has been appreciated as a source of food through its incorporation into various traditional delicacies (Buchmann et al., 2010). ...
Incorporation of the baobab fruit pulp in innovative formulations remains limited, despite its abundance of various nutrients and bioactive components. The objective of this study was to enhance the utilization of the baobab fruit pulp through the development of baobab supplemented cultured milk products. The physicochemical, microbial characteristics and consumer acceptability of treatments were studied. In the treatments, an increase in baobab pulp concentration led to an increase in some proximate components. A significant increase in the calcium, zinc, and vitamin C content was also observed with increased baobab concentration at different culture concentrations. Formulations were free from pathogenic bacteria and hence safe for human consumption. It was also established that Leuconostoc mesenteroides were responsible for the fermentation of the cultured formulations. Incorporating baobab fruit pulp in milk has proven to have a positive effect on the overall nutritional value of the milk, enhancing its suitability in combating micronutrient deficiencies. ARTICLE HISTORY
... However, when it comes to archaeology, the reduced amount of string findings does not allow us to get a direct and accurate evidence of how string manufacturing was. To do so, we must turn elsewhere for help, and ethnography is one of our most reliable tools (Carr & Maslowski, 1995;Connolly, Kallenbach, & McCabe, 2017;Hardy, 2008;Kerfant, 2022;Wickens & Lowe, 2008). ...
The site Zamostje 2, located in Sergiev-Posad district of Moscow (Russia) on the west bank of the Dubna River, has provided two Mesolithic and one Early Neolithic occupations dated from 7000 to 5400 cal BC. Thanks to the waterlogged environment, the site has an exceptional preservation. The site has yielded fishing screens, fishing fences, wooden fishing traps, and several small cordage remains elaborated with plant fibres, pine bark floats, fragments of paddles, and other wooden objects. In this work, we present the study of the fragments of cordage and fishing nets with the objective of providing new insights into the production and use of implements made of plant fibres. We have characterized the production process by analysing the morphological and technical characteristics by carrying out experimentation with plant fibres in order to obtain reference material to recognize them at an archaeological level. The analysis of 82 knots and 23 fragments of strings has allowed to determine that they were elaborated with single threads from 0.5 to 1.5 mm thick, which is noticeably smaller than most examples from other sites. All of them were elaborated with woody bast fibres.
... A. digitata L. (Wickens 2008). Each of the seven baobab species are located in different regions of Madagascar, being adapted to different climates and could potentially have different responses to climate change. ...
Climate change; Ecological Niche Modelling; Socioecological systems; Resilience
Certain plant species have traits adapted for seed dispersal by megafauna, which may be absent in their current ranges. Characterizing the dispersal mechanism of such plant species can provide insights about their population dynamics and regeneration. We investigated the effectiveness of the extant fauna as seed dispersers of the Malagasy baobab, Adansonia grandidieri , which have megafaunal dispersal traits. We documented the animal species that interact with its fruits and seeds in the canopy and on the ground through direct observations, camera trapping, opportunistic search of feces with seeds, and dispersal experiments. We also estimated seed fate using a model parameterized with data obtained through experiments on seed removal and seed germination under and away from adult A. grandidieri trees. Further, we examined the impacts of seed dispersal in mitigating herbivore pressures on A. grandidieri seedling through an exclosure experiment. We did not find animals interacting with fruits in the canopy. However, we observed a native rodent species, Eliurus myoxinus , handling fruits/seeds on the ground, and found seeds in bush pig feces. Also, while the rates of germination for the dispersed A. grandidieri seeds were low, their probability of producing viable seedlings was higher than when the seeds stayed under adult trees. We also found that the seedlings of A. grandidieri had a high probability of surviving even when herbivores were present. Overall, our results provide insights into the regeneration of A. grandidieri and suggest that some extant local ground‐dwelling fauna can provide seed dispersal services to this species.
Abstract in Malagasy is available with online material.
Baobab (Adansonia digitata) is a long-lived tree endemic to Africa with economic, ecological, and cultural importance, yet its genomic features are underexplored. Here, we report a chromosome-level reference genome anchored to 42 chromosomes for A. digitata, alongside draft assemblies for a sibling tree, two trees from distinct locations in Africa, and A. za from Madagascar. The baobab genome is uniquely rich in DNA transposons, which make up 33%, while LTR retrotransposons account for 10%. A. digitata experienced whole genome multiplication (WGM) around 30 million years ago (MYA), followed by a second WGM event 3–11 MYA, likely linked to autotetraploidy. Resequencing of 25 trees identify three subpopulations, with gene flow across West Africa distinct from East Africa. Gene enrichment and fixation index (Fst) analyses show baobab retained multiple circadian, flowering, and light-responsive genes, which likely support longevity through the UV RESISTANCE LOCUS 8 (UVR8) pathway. In sum, we provide genomic resources and insights for baobab breeding and conservation.
This study was carried out to investigate the effect of watering regime and mycorrhizal inoculation on the growth of Adansonia digitata L. seedlings. Seedlings were inoculated with ectomycorrhizae (M0), endomycorrrhizae (M1), non-inoculated (M2) and subjected to three levels of watering; daily (W0), every other day (W1) and once a week at pot capacity (W2). The experimental design used was split plot experiment where mycorrhizal inoculation was the main plot treatment while watering regime was the subplot treatment. Nine experimental treatments were arranged in a 3×3 factorial experimental design and replicated 5 times. Morphological parameters such as the leaf number, collar diameter, shoot height, shoot weight, root weight as well as physiological parameters such as dry weight, fresh weight, and relative water content were measured. Data obtained were taken fortnightly for a period of 12 weeks and subjected to one-way analysis of variance. The significant mean values were compared and separated using Duncan Multiple Range Test. The result indicated that shoot height (9.13 ± 8.39 cm) was significantly different (p>0.05) when watered once a week. There was no significant difference in seedling relative water content among the treatments. The study suggests that the seedling growth of Adansonia digitata could be enhanced by ectomycorrhizal inoculation and daily watering.
ABSTRACT
Baobab is a multipurpose tree species with nutritional,
medicinal and health benefits. Little is known about
the suitable media that could support seedling
emergence and early growth of the species. A study
was conducted at the College of Agriculture, Kabba
between March to September 2022 to examine the
influence of nursery media on seedling emergence and
early growth of baobab. The treatments involved
topsoil (TS) (100%), TS+ Poultry manure (PM)+Rice
husk (RH) (2:1:3), TS+PM+ Sawdust (SD) (2:1:3),
TS+PM+ Oil palm bunch residue (OPBR) (2:1:3),
TS+PM +OPBR+RH+SD (1:1:1:1:1). The experiment
was laid out in a completely randomized design
(CRD) with five replicates. Emergence parameters
such as days to first seedling emergence, emergence
percentage, emergence index and emergence rate
index were taken. Growth traits measured were plant
height (cm), number of leaves, stem girth (cm) and
number of branches. The data collected were
subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using
Genstat statistical software. The results indicated that
nursery media positively influenced seedling
emergence and growth parameters evaluated. Seeds
planted in TS+PM+RH had the least number of days
to first seedling emergence (22.8 days) and highest
percent emergence (88%). The TS+PM+OPBR
recorded the tallest plants (83.00, 114.00, 145.00 and
180.30 cm) at 3, 4, 5 and 6 months after planting
(MAP), more leaves (43.00, 122.70, 159.00, 193.70
and 221.30) and widest stem girth (3.90, 5.53, 6.53,
7.70 and 8.77 cm) across the months. It also
manifested a tendency to produce greater number of
branches across the months. This was attributed to the
use of well decomposed poultry manure and the
inclusion of oil palm bunch residue which may have
supplied more nitrogen that enhanced the growth of
baobab seedlings.
The baobab trees (genus Adansonia) have attracted tremendous attention because of their striking shape and distinctive relationships with fauna¹. These spectacular trees have also influenced human culture, inspiring innumerable arts, folklore and traditions. Here we sequenced genomes of all eight extant baobab species and argue that Madagascar should be considered the centre of origin for the extant lineages, a key issue in their evolutionary history2,3. Integrated genomic and ecological analyses revealed the reticulate evolution of baobabs, which eventually led to the species diversity seen today. Past population dynamics of Malagasy baobabs may have been influenced by both interspecific competition and the geological history of the island, especially changes in local sea levels. We propose that further attention should be paid to the conservation status of Malagasy baobabs, especially of Adansoniasuarezensis and Adansoniagrandidieri, and that intensive monitoring of populations of Adansoniaza is required, given its propensity for negatively impacting the critically endangered Adansoniaperrieri.
Baobab, ( Adansonia digitata ), is a long-lived tree endemic to Africa that holds great economic, ecological, and cultural value. However, our knowledge of its genomic features, evolutionary history, and diversity is limited, rendering it orphaned scientifically. We generated a haploid chromosome-level reference genome anchored into 42 chromosomes for A. digitata , as well as draft assemblies for a sibling tree, two trees from distinct locations in Africa, and a related species, A. za from Madagascar. Unlike any other plant to date, DNA transposable elements (TEs) make up 33% of the A. digitata genome compared to only 10% long terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTR-RTs), which are usually predominant in plant genomes. Baobab has undergone a whole genome duplication (WGD) shared with the Malvoideae ~30 million years ago (MYA), as well as a confirmed autotetraplody event 3-4 million MYA that coincides with the most recent burst of TE insertions. Resequencing 25 A. digitata trees from Africa revealed three subpopulations that suggest gene flow through most of West Africa but separated from East Africa. Gene enrichment analysis for baobab-specific and high fixation index (Fst) suggested baobab may have retained multiple copies of circadian, light and growth genes to coordinate genome protection for longevity through the UV RESISTANCE LOCUS 8 ( UVR8 ) and synchronizing flower development with pollinators. This study lays the groundwork for the creation of breeding resources and the conservation of baobab biodiversity.
Adansonia digitata L. is an iconic tree of African countries and is sparsely
distributed in tropical countries. Almost all parts of the plant have either dietary
or medicinal value. Due to this, the plant is being praised as “Kalpavriksha”
in India. In this review, A. digitata has been selected to explore different
bioactive, and pharmacological activities reported so far from this medicinal
plant. For this, an extensive literature survey was conducted to collect the
various pharmacological activities published up to 2021 through different
databases or search engines like Google Scholar, Pubmed, ScienceDirect,
Scopus, SpringerLink, Web of Science, etc. The relevant literature was
extracted from the different databases using keywords like pharmacological
activities, biological activities, and evaluation of particular activity by its name. The search results manifest around 17 types of biological activities
like antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic,
antidepressant, antihyperlipidemic, antiulcer, antidiabetic, antigiardial, antihyperlipidemic, antitrypanosomal, hypoglycemic, antilarvicidal & repellent,
neuroprotective effect, hepatoprotective and antitumor activities. Along with
these, Traditional/Ethnomedicinal uses, Phytochemical analyses, and Isolation of bioactive principles were discussed in this review.
The aim of this paper is to improve the nutritional quality of bakery products by replacing wheat flour (WF) with different proportions (10%, 20%, and 30%) of baobab flour (BF). The composite flours and bread obtained were evaluated from nutritional, physical-chemical, phytochemical, organoleptic, and rheological points of view. The results obtained show that BF is a rich source of minerals (K: 13,276.47 ± 174 mg/kg; Ca: 1570.67 ± 29.67 mg/kg; Mg: 1066.73 ± 9.97 mg/kg; Fe: 155.14 ± 2.95 mg/kg; Na: 143.19 ± 5.22 mg/kg; and Zn: 14.90 ± 0.01 mg/kg), lipids (1.56 ± 0.02 mg/100 g), and carbohydrates (76.34 ± 0. 06 mg/100 g) as well as for the phytochemical profile. In this regard, the maximum contents for the total polyphenols content (TPC) were recorded in the case of bread with 30% BF (297.63 ± 1.75 mg GAE/100 g), a total flavonoids content (TFC) of 208.06 ± 0.002 mg QE/100 g, and 66.72 ± 0.07% for antioxidant activity (AA). Regarding the physical-chemical, rheological, and organoleptic analysis, the bread sample with 10% BF (BWB1) was the best among the samples with different proportions of BF. It presented a smooth, porous appearance (73.50 ± 0.67% porosity) and an elastic core (85 ± 0.27% elasticity) with a volume of 155.04 ± 0.95 cm3/100 g. It had better water absorption (76.7%) than WF (55.8%), a stability of 5.82 min, and a zero-gluten index. The scores obtained by BWB1 for the organoleptic test were as follows: Appearance: 4.81; color: 4.85; texture: 4.78; taste: 4.56; flavor: 4.37; and overall acceptability: 4.7. This study shows that BF improved the nutritional quality of the product, organoleptic properties, α-amylase activity, viscosity, and phytochemical profile, resulting in composite flour suitable for the production of functional bread.
Birds, with their exquisite adaptations to land, water, and air, are among the most abundant vertebrates on earth. One of the many benefits of the baobab for the Hadza is its well-known association with a great variety of birds, part of the remarkable biodiversity the tree supports. With its rivers, lakes, and marshes, and its many kinds of fruiting trees, the rich mosaic savanna of the eastern Rift Valley supports a diverse population of resident and migratory birds that have likely played a part in hominin evolution (Stidham 2005; Prassack 2011; Morelli et al. 2015; Blasco 2016; Negro et al. 2016). The significance of birds in hominin evolution is receiving increasing attention today; at the Eleventh Conference on Hunting and Gathering Societies in 2015, there was a section of oral presentations under the heading “Human-Bird Relationships in Hunting and Gathering Societies.” Birds are indeed significant in the material culture and spiritual life of the Hadza and of other African savanna foragers, and the baobab/bird association is yet another contributing factor to the idea of the baobab as an ecological tree of life. As previously noted, it is this status as an ecological tree of life that makes the baobab a resource-rich environment for the Hadza, and would likely have made it a resource-rich environment for early hominins as well.
Central-place provisioning was earlier identified as a system of social production in which resources acquired by male hunters and female gatherers are brought back to camps and made available to offspring and caregivers by delayed exchange and by pooling and sharing. The argument presented was that central-place camping associated with generalized food production (also identified as central-place foraging) and central-place provisioning (Marlowe 2006) should be expanded to include central-place living. This broader view is necessary because Hadza camps, like those of other foragers, involve more than the practical requirements of a secure, sheltered, residential environment that is centrally located for kin-based and camp-wide exchange; more than a central place for processing, cooking, and eating food; and more than an environment for the care and provisioning of offspring, especially dependent children, and their caretakers, as well as the old, sick, and injured.
Of the many ways in which the baobab is a tree of life for the Hadza, none is more important than its year-round value as a multisource food tree. Published accounts indicate that for many Africans, however, the baobab is preeminently a fruit tree. For others, baobab-specific foods (which are those that come directly from the tree itself) have also included its root, bark, leaf, flower, seed, and seed sprout. In some parts of Africa, the leaves (Rashford 2019) and seeds are dietary staples, but there are few accounts of the consumption of the tree’s root, bark, flower, and seed sprout (Rashford 2015). Apart from the baobab and various berries, the fruit trees most often mentioned in the literature on the Hadza are the fig (Ficus sycomorus L.), doum palm (Hyphaene coriacea), desert date (Balanites aegyptiaca Del.), tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.), and marula (Selenicereus megalanthus). None of these comes close in value to the baobab as both the Hadza’s most useful fruit tree and most important multipurpose food tree. This chapter explores the significance of the baobab as the Hadza’s preeminent fruit tree. In doing so, it stresses the importance of a more systematic understanding of the overwhelming Hadza dependence on plants, including the importance of fruits in the Hadza diet. Following a discussion of Hadza climbing baobabs for fruit and other vital resources, the second part of the chapter looks at the various ways in which the fruit of the baobab is consumed, the use of the fruit for feeding children, and the baobab’s importance for children at the September–October height of the dry time.
One of the most powerful means flowering plants evolved to enlist the unwitting support of animals as pollinators and seed dispersers is an energy-rich sugary reward, often in combination with bright colors and attractive scent. Nurtured by our primate ancestry, the love of sugary foods, including floral nectar and ripe fruit, has led human beings everywhere to regard honey as the epitome of sweetness. Honey has likely been important throughout hominin evolution, judging not only from the love of honey evident among human beings worldwide but also among chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans and among a variety of monkeys, such as baboons and macaques. But as Crittenden (2011:257) noted, “It has been suggested that honey may have been an important food source for early members of the genus Homo, yet the importance of meat and savanna plant foods continue to be stressed as the most relevant foods in dietary reconstructions.” With respect to theorizing the significance of honey in hominin evolution, what is remarkable about the baobab is its contribution to hominin dietary requirements as a source of water, meat, important plant foods, and large quantities of honey.
In popular culture, the baobab is identified not only as a symbol of the Africa continent and its diverse peoples but also as Africa’s tree of life (Layser 2001: 152). A number of trees have been identified as trees of life in scholarly works, general publications, and online sources, and with the notable exception of evergreens, the baobab shares the defining tree-of-life features of all of them. However, the baobab differs from all other trees of life because we can theorize that as a part of Africa’s mosaic savanna, it has had an enduring association with the evolution of our species. That is, during the longest and most consequential period of hominin history, the baobab would likely have been among the trees earliest recognized in the human imagination as life-manifesting, life-giving, and life-representing. Kaare and Woodburn (1999) described the Hadza landscape as “dominated by the fan acacias and baobab trees which are so familiar to viewers of television wildlife documentaries.” It is probably true that most readers of this book are now familiar with the baobab’s extraordinary appearance and many uses. The same cannot be said of its likely role in human history, which deserves to be better known. If the baobab is indeed the tree of life in the landscape of our evolutionary history, then it can be identified as humanity’s ancestral tree of life. This chapter, which is in three parts, discusses the distinguishing features of trees of life and highlights the baobab as the exemplary representative. The first describes the baobab; the second discusses its evolution; and the third identifies the kinds of trees of life and the criteria for regarding the baobab as the exemplary multipurpose tree of life.
Traditional medicinal plants worldwide have received a great deal of attention from ethnobotanists and other scholars, from commercial interest in search of new pharmaceutical products, and from individuals involved in a growing number of health-conscious movements. With these developments, no area of baobab use has received as much attention in the literature as its association with wellness, which includes the value of the tree as a whole, and the various uses of its root, bark, leaves, flower, fruit pulp, seeds, and fruit pod. This short chapter discusses Hadza health-related uses of the baobab.
The baobab’s size, distribution, and ecology contribute to its value as a resource environment for human beings, and this includes a place for camping. In the heat of the tropical savanna, the welcome shade of the baobab has made it a settlement site whose uses have ranged from a place to momentarily rest or relax to a temporary or permanent site for residential communities. People across Africa gather at baobab trees to socialize, tell stories, adjudicate disputes, conduct community affairs, stage festive events, and engage in religious activities related to the baobab status as a cosmic tree linked to shrines and altars (Ross 2008). The baobab’s importance in the siting and relocating of Hadza residential camps is what makes it their central-place tree. Against this background, we can speculate that the baobab must also have been a place where early hominins gathered and settled.
The baobab is a resource environment for many species for whom it provides such things as protection, food, residence, and breeding site. In their excellent documentary titled Baobab, Portrait of a Tree, which focused on the biodiversity of single old baobab, Root and Root (1972) filmed the remarkable behavior of some of the many arthropods, reptiles, birds, and mammals that were part of the tree’s rich faunal ecology (Sweeney 1969, 1974; Owen 1974; Root and Root 1972; Wickens 1982; Du Puy 1996; Wickens and Lowe 2008; Hellekson 2009:6; Niassy et al. 2011). Although Africans obtain a variety of food from the baobab, its nutritious fruit pulp, seeds, and leaves are the most often noted in the literature (Rashford 2018). But for foragers like the Hadza, the baobab is also a source of animal foods. These include honey bees and birds as earlier indicated, as well as a number of small and large mammals that are targeted for food and other resources (Tomita 1966; Hawkes et al. 1991; Marlowe 2010; Peterson et al. 2013). Although largely overlooked in the literature, the dietary contribution of the baobab/animal association is an important aspect of the tree’s significance as an ecologically based multipurpose tree of life for human beings.
The baobab is widely recognized as a tree of life, but it is not without a variety of associations with danger and death. Monstrous, grotesque, frightening, and threatening are characterizations that identify the baobab as a disturbing tree. They highlight the baobab’s ability to destroy built structures, its perilous challenge to climbers, its links to spirits in general and to harmful spirits in particular, and its deadly ecological associates. There are no reports of the Hadza fearing the baobab or being preoccupied with its real dangers. Nevertheless, the negative experiences associated with the baobab are part of the tree’s overall significance in the human environment. This chapter discusses the fearful impressions and potential harm associated with the baobab in Africa and it serves as an introduction to the next chapter focused on the relation between the baobab and death, which is significant for the Hadza.
Beverage, even if only in the indispensable form of plain water, is a staple in the diet of all people. This is especially true in the tropics, where many kinds of beverages have developed in response to high temperatures and the need for hydration, and the abundance of fruits from which drinks can be obtained naturally, or by pressure, dilution, liquidation, or maceration. The baobab provides a variety of beverages. In addition to water, and to honey consumed as a liquid, any drink with baobab in it, whether as the principal ingredient or a contributing ingredient, is considered a baobab drink. This chapter suggests the baobab can justifiably be identified as one of the most important beverage trees of the African savanna; it introduces the baobab as a source of different kinds of drinks generally and among the Hadza in particular.
As source, sustainer, and restorer of life, water has been an indispensable resource in hominin evolution. The water traditions of all people are based on the sources of water in their environment and the ways in which they access, manage, and make use of it in all aspects of their way of life. Because most of hominin history has been based on hunting and gathering, it is important to understand the water traditions of this particular mode of adaptation, especially in relation to the ethnography of historical and contemporary foragers in arid tropical environments. Some have argued that anthropologists have taken for granted the importance of water in human life, but water is too important a feature of the planetary surface and of terrestrial environments – and of any environment considered habitable by human beings – to have been passed over by anthropologists.
It was earlier suggested that the baobab’s usefulness made hominins largely responsible for its dispersal throughout the dry lowlands of tropical and subtropical Africa, and in wet areas and high elevations where it would not normally occur. While it is reasonable to assume that the baobab supported our ancestors over the course of hominin evolution, it is not as well recognized that we and our ancestors may have been just as important to the success of the baobab, for an equally long period of time. The human/baobab relation is a mutually beneficial one. To say, as Harlan (1976:11) did, that the “baobab is not man dependent, but man can sometimes be baobab dependent” obscures a key point: in some situations, the baobab is man-dependent because of the benefits of human incidental encouragement and intentional assistance, the latter being the precise theoretical definition of cultivation. This co-evolving relation – of humans settling at naturally occurring baobab trees and the unwitting aid and cultivation provided by humans in their settlement environment – accounts for the presence of the baobab in the landscape of foragers, farmers, herders, and urbanites.
Reflecting the general understanding at the time, Christian Kull and Paul Laris (2009:187) wrote, “Humans evolved in Africa in the presence of fire,” noting that “Little is known, however, about the interconnections between human evolution and the flammable savanna biome (Keeley and Rundel 2005; Ségalen et al. 2007; Bowman et al. 2008).” Consider the baobab, for example. It has received increasing attention in recent years for its dietary, nutritional, medicinal, and commercial value; the same cannot be said for the intriguing ways in which it enters into the fire-related activities of Africans of the savanna. But the value of the baobab as one of the mediating factors in the Hadza interaction with fire is an important aspect of its multipurpose use, and this points to the possible significance of the baobab/fire association in the foraging adaptation of early hominins. As earlier noted, hominin evolution is theorized to have involved a transition from an arboriterrestrial ancestor to a committed terrestrial adaptation to the mosaic savanna. The natural fire regime of the African savanna would have been, without doubt, a key factor in the foraging way of life that was the foundation of hominin evolution, and the baobab was likely a part of this history.
Although some cultures traditionally abandoned the body of someone who has died at the place where the death occurred, ritual disposal of the dead is the norm among human beings, and the practice varies widely from culture to culture based on environment, mode of adaptation, and social organization (Hertz 1960a, b; van Gennep 1960; Huntington and Metcalf 1979; Robben 2017). Some groups lay the body on the ground in a chosen place, either exposed on the surface or covered with rocks or earth to form a mound. Some bury it, burn it, or dispose of it in rivers, lakes, or the sea; or they place it in a tree or on a platform out of the reach of animals. Some use natural containers, such as caves, animal burrows, or hollow trees, and some build structures, such as tombs and vaults.
Fruit quality is affected by different factors such as packaging technology, and storage condition. The fruit quality of Z. mauritiana depends on postharvest handling techniques. The study aimed to identify suitable packages for handling and transportation and to characterize the mineral, nutritional, and anti-nutritional composition of matured and immatured fresh Z.mauritiana fruit collected from Kobo, North Wollo, Ethiopia. Z.mauritiana fruits were packed in three types of packages (nestable plastic crates, cold boxes, and wooden boxes) and transported over a distance of 500 km by road. The fruits packed in a cold box had lesser bruising damage, and weight loss, and had better quality in terms of physical injuries, weight loss, and decay as compared to those packed in wooden boxes and a nestable
plastic crate. On the other hand, the phytochemical analysis of Z. mauritiana showed that it contains acceptable amounts of moisture content (5.72), ash (6.15-6.227), protein (8.75-9.35), fiber (1.63-1.74), fat (5.45-5.7), phytate (310-321) and tannin value (11251-11478). The analysis of minerals for Z. mauritiana fruits showed that it has an acceptable amount of potassium (226.6955 mg/100g), calcium (1.977 mg/100g), sodium (0.34609 mg/100g), magnesium (0.22440 mg/100g), iron (0.039 mg/100g) and zinc (0.02059 mg/100g). Therefore, Z. mauritiana fruit can be used as a good source of food.
The current study aims to review the prospects for baobab domestication and cultivation, nutrient variability, food applications, industrial value and future potentials of the African baobab. The variations in nutrient content of baobab as seen in several studies could have arisen from differences in provenance the sample was obtained, age of the parent plant, as well as differences in soil and climate. Regardless, baobab is a rich source of nutrients, bioactives and functional polysaccharides, representing a huge market potential for food industries. It has garnered widespread interest as a functional ingredient for preventive health care and disease management. Due to approvals given by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Commission (EC), baobab fruit pulp has gained widespread popularity as a novel food ingredient. In addition, baobab fruit pulp offered as a dietary supplement has been used in its naturally dehydrated form or processed into pills. There are huge information gaps on processing and safety of baobab seed oil, use of baobab seeds and leaf powder - a rich source of mucilage, in food systems. An industrially significant product from baobab are the functional polysaccharides which are a rapidly advancing application. Baobab plant parts, fruit pulp, kernels, whole seeds, funicles, leaves, empty fruit shells and roots all inclusive, are of significant value for their key role in nutrition and health, food security and economic welfare of the rural communities in regions where the trees are originally found. Both traditional and novel applications of the various parts of the baobab tree have been explored in this paper. These include use in edible products like gruels, jams, yoghurt, wines, juice etc. Application of extrusion processing as an economical means of value addition to baobab commodities has been reviewed, especially relating to the classification of baobab as a neglected and underutilized species (NUS).
This experiment was carried out to determine the effect of different levels of compost produced with Cow dung on the early growth performance of Adansonia digitata. A. digitata seeds were planted in a seed box and transplanted into poly pots after germination with the application of compost produced with Cow dung at a rate of 1kg, 2kg and 3kg per treatment and a control experiment. This experiment was carried out in a Completely Randomized Block Design. Data on plant height, number of leaves, leave area, leave width and collar diameter were recorded. The data were collected weekly for eleven weeks starting from the second week after planting. The data collected were subjected to statistical analysis using ANOVA. Result of the experiment revealed the highest mean height (137.63±19.46) was obtained in the control experiment, highest number of leaves (17.67±2.52) was recorded at treatment 4 (3kg), The widest leaf area was recorded at treatment 3 (2kg) (77.98±2.45) and the highest mean collar diameter was recorded is obtained in the control experiment (7.25±2.05). It is deduced that, the compost from cow-dung indicates no significant improvement in the early growth performance of A. digitata; also, different rates of application have different influence on the growth of the plant. In order to obtain optimum growth and yield of A. digitata, proper soil management techniques (such as application of organic manure) should be adopted and to maintain stable soil fertility; application of compost is advisable.
In recent years, the importance of natural resources in supporting rural livelihoods all over the world was increasingly being recognized in national and international policy. However, human well-being relies on our ability to sustainably exploit these resources. Approaches to development are, therefore, required to enable income generation from natural resources while at the same time supporting their effective conservation. This research investigates the importance of baobab tree in Non-Timber Forest Product and adaptation to Environmental Change (EC). It also highlights the conflict between national development efforts and a responsible approach to natural resource conservation. This is achieved using Nuba Mountains of Sudan as a case study. A semi-structured interview with 224 household heads was conducted. Furthermore, Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) based on free listing and key informant techniques were applied. The qualitative and quantitative techniques were used to analyze the socio-economic data. The study finds that drawing on baobab as a multiple value tree for livelihoods strengthens rural people’s ability to deal with, and adapt to, both EC and extreme events. The key to facing the impact of EC is to develop viable policy responses and create dynamic innovative research, strategies, management and policies which focus on local communities to avoid the hazard of marginalizing those who rely on natural resources for subsistence and income generation.
The idea of arboreal ecocriticism – or dendrocriticism – reflects the burgeoning interest in vegetal life within the Environmental Humanities. Concerned with arboreal texts of diverse kinds, dendrocriticism can be understood as a tree-focused mode of environmental, literary and cultural analysis. This article theorises dendrocriticism in relation to the boab ( Adansonia gregorii ), a large tree endemic to Northern Australia. Narrating boab subjectivity and corporeality, the arboreal texts discussed here include Alec Choate’s poem “Prison Tree, Derby” (1978), Bill Neidjie’s verse narrative Story About Feeling (1989), Tim Winton’s novel Dirt Music (2001) and Veronica Lake’s poem “Boab Tree” (2012), the latter written from the perspective of Gija Jumulu, a massive boab relocated two-thousand miles from the Kimberley to Perth. In response to global forest decline, prospective areas of dendrocritical focus include, inter alia, the traditional botanical knowledge of indigenous people, scientific studies of vegetal cognition and the limits of dendrocentrism – the privileging of trees over other plants.
The fruit bats Pteropus livingstonii and Pteropus seychellensis comorensis coexist on two of the Comoro Islands, in the Western Indian Ocean. Pteropus livingstonii is more diurnally active than P. s. comorensis. Differences exist in the feeding strategies exhibited by both species when feeding together on kapok (Ceiba pentandra), with P. livingstonii dominant in aggressive interactions with P. s. comorensis. Preliminary investigations suggest that, although there may be some overlap in feeding ecology, with both species feeding on native forest plants, there may be little evidence of overlap in the native fruits eaten. These differences complement known differences in the roosting ecology, flight behaviour, morphology and timing of reproduction of the two sympatric Pteropus species, and suggest that P. s. comorensis does not act as a major limiting factor on P. livingstonii. The implications for the conservation of the Critically Endangered P. livingstonii are discussed.
Starting from 1927, 12 Integral Nature Reserves have been established in Madagascar, though in 1964 one was allocated for commercial exploitation. Further, around 20 special reserves have been created with the goal of completing a sample of biotopes not included in the INRs, or to protect particular animal species. Over 30 forestry stations are concerned with reforestation schemes, arboreta, and water management. A private reserve exists at Berenty which protects an area of gallery forest. A decree of 1961 defined and listed the most threatened Malagasy animal species. Much remains to be done for conservation, however; the chief hope for the future is argued to be the development of national pride and efforts towards education.-P.J.Jarvis
Food resources in the arid and semi-arid regions of Kenya are limited since no (or very little meaningful) agriculture can be practised. Knowledge and location of wild resources of food are therefore necessary preoccupations of the peoples in these regions. Presents the plants whose roots are used for food, as obtained from various published and unpublished sources.-from Author
Male fruit bats might be attracted by certain Adansonia digitata flowers whose odor are reminiscent of (or similar to) mammalian female pheromones. -from English summary
Indicates the origins and evolution of the lemurs, and provides an outline of the biology, ecology and distribution of: little lemurs Cheirogaleidae, true lemurs Lemuridae, Lepilemuridae, leaf-eaters Indriidae, and the aye-aye Daubentonia madagascariensis (Daubentoniidae). Notes are given on extinct giant lemurs. -P.J.Jarvis
Madagascar's avifauna is relatively impoverished in terms of species number, but it contains many unique examples. Relationship with habitat is indicated, noting the significance of evergreen forest, open savanna and subdesert scrub. Five families are virtually confined to the island: Mesitornithidae, Leptosomidae, Brachypteraciidae, Philepittidae and Vangidae. A synopsis is provided of these families, and of other birds - water birds, raptors, ground-dwellers, other non-passerines, passerines, migrants, and seabirds. The appendix lists birds currently breeding in Madagascar. -P.J.Jarvis
The 'bush' or thornscrub of Madagascar's Southwest contains c48% of its plant genera and 95% of its species as endemics, with many of the species adapted to a severe climate and to very varied soils. High bush with trees 8-10 m high, the upper stratum largely composed of Didiereaceae, emerges above an extremely dense bush layer reaching 5 m in height and characterised by Didiereaceae and leafless Euphorbiaceae, and which in turn rises above low scrub. A synopsis is provided of the principal families. The struggle against water loss governs all plant growth in the area, and the vegetative parts of plants show many convergent adaptations in roots, trunk and leaf. Floral communities are characterized by species and classified according to soil type. -P.J.Jarvis
The economic pressures on Madagascar's rural population is leading to ever-increasing use of their key 'free' resource, the forest lands. Much once-forested land has been subjected to burning to the extent that it now only supports Aristidia (bunch-grass) useless to man and stock. Only 15% of the arble land, however, is actually down to cultivation, and good land is so fragmented that it is uneconomic for market crops. Remaining areas of forest are subjected to logging pressures, but the small farmer remains the more serious threat to the survival of this irreplaceable ecological resource. The need for concerted foreign aid to conserve the forest is stressed. -P.J.Jarvis
Of the 7000 or so vascular plant species in Kenya, about 800 wild plant species are recorded to be used for food. The taxa are distributed over 105 families and over 300 genera. The paper summarises the results of four years of research and extension work carried out by the Indigenous Food Plants Programme (IFPP).
The evidence for climatic change includes geological, archaeological and biological data. The last is here given particular attention. Past vegetational changes are modelled deductively, and hypothetical changes for the Late Quaternary are outlined with the aid of maps. -K.Clayton
Determined 13 plant communities from an area near Victoria River Crossing and 10 communities from Bullita homestead area. These communites form significant associations with landform and geology. -from Authors
Irrespective of varied names, it was uniformly reported during our investigations in different parts of Gujarat that the pulp of baobab fruit is used to prepare a soft drink (sherbet), which is recommended as a very effective refrigerant. The white dry crispy pulp, which binds the dark brown or black seeds in a fibrous network of vascular tissue of the fruit is eaten raw by children and used as a substitute for tamarind. The pulp mixed with milk and sugar is used to cure jaundice in some parts of South Gujarat while the bark extraction is used for the same purpose in Anand district of Central Gujarat. Bark decoction is also used to cure whooping cough (utaatiyo) especially in children in Anand. It is also believed that the tree starts bearing new foliage just one week or ten days before the onset of monsoon; and thus could be considered as a rain indicator.
It is concluded that the most promising plant species with edible products should be integrated in afforestation measures or agroforestry systems. By integrating this part of the vegetation in modern land use systems, the ancient practice of gathering can become part of ecologically sound and culturally accepted future strategies of living in the Sahel. -from Author
Describes the evolution of the Blue Nile in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Chronological evidence is provided by volcanic ashes and dates on carbonates and fossil shells. Paleochannels were formed during a wet phase about 11-12 000 yr ago. The second section describes the evolution of the White Nile which shows a similar phase of flooding in the terminal Pleistocene and the early Holocene. Sections dug at Jebel Tomat and Shabona are used to reconstruct the Holocene environment. The chronology is summarised in the conclusion. -K.Clayton
Petroleum ether extracts of the seeds of eight indigenous plants were tested for their efficacy as grain protectant against the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Motsch. at a temperature of 28 ± 2 °C and relative humidity of 75 ± 5 %. The plants, whose seeds were used, include Aframomum melegueta K. Schum., Piper guineense Schumach. and Thonn., Jatropha gossypifolia L., Arachis hypogaea L., Citrus sinensis Osbeck, Parkia clappertoniana L., Adansonia digitata L., and Elaeis guineensis Jacq, at concentrations of 1 %, 2 % and 3 %. Results showed that A. hypogaea had the greatest insecticidal activity producing 100 % mortality of the weevils within 24 h of treatment, was most persistent of all the oil extracts tested and was still toxic after 28 days post treatment. P. guineense and E. guineensis also had high insecticidal activity at higher concentrations producing 90.0 % and 73.3 % within 96 h after treatment at 3 % concentration. The least effective and least persistent were A. melegueta and C. sinensis. The plant extracts did not affect the water absorption capacity of the seeds since the results obtained from the treated seeds were similar to those of the control seeds. The oil extracts did not adversely hamper seed viability.
Leaf architecture was investigated in three species of the family Bombacaceae. The mature leaflets from both fresh and herbarium materials were cleared using the method of Mohan Ram and Nayyar (1977), and terminologies of Hickey (1973) were used to determine the leaf characters and the venation patterns. The whole lamina is more or less symmetrical in all the species investigated. The major venation pattern conforms to the types of camptodromous mixed with festooned brochidodromous, and festooned brochidodromous. In all the members of the family studied, the primary and secondary veins are ornamented with parenchymatous bundle sheaths. Imperfectly developed areoles are predominant over the developed ones. The size and the shape of the areole is variable. The vein endings may be simple, or once or sometimes twice dichotomously branched. The highest venation order of the family is sixth degree. Marginal ultimate venation is looped. Tracheids are either uni-, bi-, tri-, or multi-seriate and vary in shape and size, and are commonly found at the free ends of the veins. Extension cells and isolated tracheids are not common. These characters are remarkably different from those in members of the Malvaceae.
The physiographic setting of the Sahara and the Nile basin is related to northward movement of the African plate, to volcano-tectonic activity in East Africa and the Sahara uplands (Tibesti, the Hoggar, Jebel Marra and the Air), and to the formation of major sedimentary basins in Libya, Sudan, Chad and Niger. -Editors
An account of the landforms and soils of the Gezira and the Blue Nile and White Nile rivers. The age and origin of the Gezira plain is discussed in terms of the clay uplands, the clay lowlands, linear dunes sand sheets and jebels (rocky hills). The next section describes the soils and land use, and a concluding section climate and water availability. -K.Clayton
The information presented in this paper is based on a broad literature review of knowledge of all plants used as sources of food and water by the Khoisan people, namely, the Hottentots or Khoi-Khoin and the San or Bushmen (Schapera 1963, Bruwer 1972), who inhabit the arid and semi-arid areas of Namibia, Botswana and southern Angola (mean annual rainfall 50–700 mm). The literature survey is supplemented by nutritional data, most of which has not been previously published.