The Aaney hunase mara/Baobab (Adansonia digitata) tree in the Karnatak College campus has flowered !!!
By the way folks, this is the only adolescent Baobab tree in Dharwad. The other young one is in the lovely wooded portion of our Baala Balaga campus.
Baobab, also called the "Tree of life" is of African origin. There are nine species of Baobabs and the ones growing in Dharwad are the more common, African variety, Adansonia digitata. The deciduous trees can become massive, with the larger species reaching 80 feet in height and 40 feet in trunk diameter. African tribals are known to have carved homes into these massive trunks. One ancient hollow Baobab tree in Zimbabwe is so large that up to 40 people can shelter inside its trunk. Various Baobabs have been used as a shop, a prison, a house, a storage barn and a bus shelter. The tree is certainly very different from any other. The trunk is smooth and shiny, not at all like the bark of other trees, and it is pinkish grey or sometimes copper coloured.
A baobab is sometimes called the “upside down tree” because when bare, its crown resembles a root system. Although baobabs' smooth bark doesn’t allow the trees' ages to be discerned by counting rings in their trunks, carbon dating has placed some specimens at more than 1,000 years old. When bare of leaves, the spreading branches of the Baobab look like roots sticking up into the air, rather as if it had been planted upside-down. (Hence the other common name- upside down tree) Baobabs are very difficult to kill, they can be burnt, or stripped of their bark, and they will just form new bark and carry on growing. When they do die, they simply rot from the inside and suddenly collapse, leaving a heap of fibres, which makes many people think that they don't die at all, but simply disappear.
The trees' flowers are pollinated by bats, insects and mouse lemurs, depending on where the trees grow. These impressive trees have traditionally been valued as sources of food, water, health remedies or places of shelter and are steeped in legend and superstition. One such interesting legend goes thus- Along the Zambezi, the tribes believe that when the world was young the Baobabs were upright and proud. However for some unknown reason, they lorded over the lesser growths.The gods became angry and uprooted the Baobabs , thrusting them back into the ground, root upwards. Evil spirits now haunt the sweet white flowers and anyone who picks one will be killed by a lion.
All baobab trees have flowers that open at night and fall within 24 hours. The species commonly known as African baobab (Adansonia digitata) has large, white flowers that can reach 5 inches in diameter. Each flower's round, thick petals surround a mass of purplish stamens. The fruit which can grow up to a foot long, contains tartaric acid and vitamin C and can either be sucked, or soaked in water to make a refreshing drink. They can also be roasted and ground up to make a coffee-like drink.
The fruit is not the only part of the Baobab that can be used. The bark is pounded to make rope, mats, baskets, paper and cloth; the leaves can be boiled and eaten, and glue can be made from the pollen. Fiber from the bark is used to make rope, baskets, cloth, musical instrument strings, and waterproof hats. While stripping the bark from the lower trunk of most trees usually leads to their death, baobabs not only survive this common practice, but they regenerate new bark. Fresh baobab leaves provide an edible vegetable similar to spinach which is also used medicinally to treat kidney and bladder disease, asthma, insect bites, and several other maladies. The tasty and nutritious fruits and seeds of several species are sought after, while pollen from the African and Australian baobabs is mixed with water to make glue.
For me, this morning's sighting was nothing short of an enchanting miracle ! And I was more than glad that Rohan and I made it on our photo jaunts (despite Rohan landing up late at my place) Since the time I set sight on the Baobab tree in this campus some twenty plus years back, I have been dreaming of getting a glimpse of these beautiful large flowers. Today was the first time I have ever seen a Baobab blossom for real...!! And what an experience that was. Thankfully I had my 55 - 300 mm lens with me. For, this is a tall tree and the flowers are way up there... beyond the reach of my regular 18- 55 mm lens.
Though we walked through the campus and shot a lot of other interesting pictures, the Baobab flowers for me, were the highlight. Ah man, my day is made !!!
That's Rohan in the background, collecting Mahogany seed pods. There are quite a few huge old Mahogany trees in the Karnatak College campus.
No comments:
Post a Comment