Baobab Biology

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).