Baobab tree

May 13, 2023

A 2015 research paper History of the introduction of the African baobab in the Indian subcontinent in Royal Society Open Science says the baobabs may have been brought to Dhar around the same time they were to Mumbai, Gujarat and Chennai — between the 10th and 17th centuries, and likely by African soldiers hired by the Islamic kingdoms of the time.

Bhil tribe are fighting the forest department’s permission to a Hyderabad-based businessman to uproot the Baobab trees for sale to rich clients, each tree costing ₹10 Lakhs.
Baobab belongs to the genus Adansonia are native to mainland Africa, Madagascar, and Australia.
There are around 1,000 Baobab trees in Dhar, in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandu district.
- It is unclear how they reached India
They have unusual barrel-like trunks and are known for their extraordinary longevity (live upto 2,000 years) and ethnobotanical importance.
The tree’s unique pendulous flowers are pollinated by bats and bush babies.
IUCN Status: Endangered
Madhya Pradesh government has applied for a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Boababs.