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The Baobab tree is a delightful tree to paint - one interesting fact I figured out from drawing it, is that the tip of every branch points upwards. Not aware of any others that do that. My first attempt I threw away as it was much too lame and lacking in energy. The tree has character, wonderful textures and silhoutted shapes that challenge the artist. This interpretation is very modern but I know I'll do more than a few different versions before I hang up the old paint brushes.

The area around Tshipise also claims the third largest baobab in the country. Here's a pic of that one. And in case you're not impressed at first sight, then let me tell you that hiding behind it are 1 LandRover open GDV (11-seater), 4 adults and 3 children (all standing next to the vehicle), a guide, and a cooler box filled with cold Castles.

The sign at the base of the tree:

A young boab. The first time I saw one (and knowing it) in the veld.

Does anyone have any comments regarding the old baobab tree of Shimuwini (means place of baobab) in the KNP. What a fantastic specimen! Really breathtaking.
Mopani Camp also has a really magnificent baobab tree inside the camp itself.

I’m very concerned about the general state of the baobabs in KNP. I was in the park earlier this year and my brother (a game ranger) pointed out to me the degree and frequency of damage to the base trunks of these beautiful trees, mostly inflicted by elephants. Apparently this damage is fatal to the trees in most cases. The section between Punda Maria and Pafuri is particularly bad.

Does anyone have any further information and comments about this?

This young Baobab we saw on a recent Nyalaland Trail

For some reason I had remembered this tree being on the S44, but I've actually just doublechecked my notes and you are absolutely correct, DDW, it is indeed on the S93

Interestingly, that photo was taken on 30 April and only two weeks later, on 13 May, the change in it was startling. (It is the same tree, but in the 1st pic I am heading south and in the 2nd I am heading north )

Baobab Tree
(Adansonia digitata)

Family: Bombacaceae.
Common names: Baobab, Cream of Tartar tree, monkey-bread tree, lemonade tree.

Description:
Largest succulent plant in the world. Can reach a height of up to 28m. Most people call it the upside-down tree because it's branches looks like a root system. Stem is covered in a greyish brown smooth bark layer, which can be 50-100m thick. Leaves are hand-sized & are decidious, which means the leaves drop during winter & appear during summer. Flowers are white, large & pendulous, which measures up to 200mm in diameter. Flowers emerge in the late afternoons. They fall & turn brown within 24 hours & leave quite an unpleasant smell behind. Fruit bats pollinate during the evenings. Fruit is covered with yellowish brown hairs & is in a large egg shape. Growing is slow for this tree, mostly because of low rainfall, but elephants also cause some problems.

Distribution:
Found in the hot, dry woodland, stoney, well drained, frost-free & low rainfall areas in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.

Ecology:
Bats, insects & birds visit & pollinate the flowers. Baboons & monkeys collect the dropped seed capsules of this tree. The seeds of this tree aren't eaten by animals.

(Kruger National Park)
*Taken by my aunt Anne, with permission.

The reference in this thread on numerous occasions that the baobab has somehow landed up with roots pointing to the sky is “rooted” in African folklore. Some stories go that the baobab was thrown out of paradise because of constantly whinging about wanting to be prettier, taller and just generally better than what it was. It landed on earth upside down but continued to prosper. In other stories the hyena gets blamed for planting the Baobab wrong way up in ignorance.

Many thousands of years ago, my favourite version of the many legends about the upside-down tree goes, before human beings inhabited the earth, the trees were the most important of all life on earth. The gods each made a tree and bestowed on it properties to be enjoyed by the other gods. Some trees were made with good fruit to eat, some were made strong and hard for furniture, others were made for security and still other were made just for beauty. The gods loved the trees and would come down to earth and sit in their shade, eat of their fruit and place the flowers in their hair. They assured each of the trees that they were all created equal and that no one tree was loved more than another. Finally a group of gods decided to make the best tree of all, so they combined their talents and made a tree so big, so beautiful, with such fruit and so useful that they were amazed and they clapped their hands with delight. They called it the Boabab.

This tree had rainbow coloured flowers that shone as if the heavens had just rained them down onto the tree. It flowered all year long with no regard for the seasons. It produced the sweetest, juiciest cool fruit. Its leaves were used for healing and its wood was good for furniture.

But the baobab tree grew haughty as a result of its great size, and even greater beauty and value. It started to give orders to the other trees and soon the other trees became afraid of the baobab tree, and were resenting it.

When the gods came down to sit under the trees they heard the rustling of the leaves and branches, and the saw that the other trees were most unhappy. This saddened them, for they truly loved all the trees, so they approached the baobab and spoke to it. They asked it to be gentle and kind to the other trees, and reminded it that its properties were gifts from the gods, not something that the baobab had learned to do. But the baobab grew prouder still, even proud of the fact that the other trees resented it. It started to taunt the other trees. The other trees became even more miserable. The useful trees closed their leaves, the branches died and their fruit didn't develop. The beautiful trees shed their flowers while the baobab continued to flower and fruit and heal. The gods grew alarmed and held a council. They then approached the baobab and gave it one last warning. "If you don't stop making the other trees unhappy, we will be forced to withdraw the properties we gave you at creation". But the birds in the branches whispered that the gods could not withdraw a gift once given, and the baobab just laughed.

Now the other trees started to droop, refusing to drink water, even when rained upon them gently from the sky. The gods had to do something.

Then one delicate little tree died. This so angered the god who created that tree that he swept down, grabbed the baobab, pulled it up by its mighty roots and turned it upside down. Now its beautiful leaves and flowers were in the ground and the roots were in the air. The baobab was silenced. Then one by one the trees began to drink. This is how the mighty baobab became a tree with its roots in the air - so that all the rest of creation can see how the arrogant are humbled.

Some pictures of the great baobab on the Lebombo trail. This tree is in the Mozambican side of the park.



The 'hollow' inside:


Just look at the texture of the bark: