The uses of the baobab flower (Adansonia digitata L.)

Abstract

In the now extensive literature on the African baobab, the use of the flower is often overlooked or described as minimal. This paper presents a synthesis of the uses of the baobab flower that incorporates the results of my own fieldwork on the introduction and cultural significance of the baobab in Florida, the Caribbean, and Brazil. Fieldwork conducted over the past 30 years has involved locating, measuring, and photographing baobabs; observations on flowering and fruiting and such things as the size and shape of fruits and the number of seeds per fruit; and structured and unstructured interviews and community discussions to determine the cultural significance of the tree. In addition to publications and word of mouth, baobabs were also located by appeals to the public involving newspaper interviews and radio interviews. Although the uses of the baobab flower have yet to be documented in a manner comparable to other parts of the tree—especially the fruit, leaves, and bark—the present study shows it is far from being useless or of little use as some premature assessments would suggest. This initial summary is intended to encourage greater attention to the uses of the flower in the increasingly sophisticated research on the baobab that is now being done in Africa and elsewhere.