Baobab – The Upside-Down Tree

Legend holds that when the Baobab was planted by God, it kept walking, so God pulled it up and replanted it upside down to stop it moving. When travelling to Australia, Africa or Madagascar, you might spot a lonely tree that looks as if it is growing upside-down, with twisted roots sitting atop a huge, smooth, trunk. We have taken a closer look at this massive tree, one of the oldest and strangest living things on our planet. In keeping with its unusual characteristics, it has a weird-sounding name - the baobab. The Baobab, Upside-Down Tree or Adansonia are some of the names used can reach heights of 5 to 30 metres (16 to 98 ft) and have trunk diameters of 7 to 11 metres (23 to 36 ft). Even is some claim that the Baobab may be many thousands of years old, it is difficult to verify as the wood does not produce annual growth rings.