The Baobab, Adansonia Digitata
1. The Baobab, Adansonia Digitata
This tree is in first place because of its potential for overall mass: girth, spread and height combined. The baobab never becomes very tall, seldom exceeding 20 metres in height, but it can become extremely fat with a massive trunk and branches. The biggest baobab in South Africa is only 22 metres in height, but has a trunk that is 10.47 metres in diameter. It has a crown that is 38.2 metres in width. It is therefore almost twice as broad as it is tall! There is another baobab that is shorter, being only 17 metres in height, but having a trunk an incredible 15.9 metres thick! Its crown spreads to 37 metres in width. There are many other individual baobabs that approach or exceed 10 metres in trunk thickness. These trees have the greatest potential for hugeness if allowed to live very long, but how long can they live? In 2007, the biggest baobab in South Africa was officially determined to be about 2,000 years old, and many others may exceed 1,000 years. Baobab wood is very soft and doesn't form growth rings, so the age needs to be determined by taking carbon-14 readings. The baobab grows in warm, dry savannah regions, mainly in the far north of South Africa (and up into the drier parts of tropical Africa), where it is by far the biggest tree. Other trees growing alongside it are mopane (Colophospermum mopane), blue hook thorn (Acacia erubescens), white syringa (Kirkia acuminata), sjambok pod (Cassia abbreviata), sesame bush (Sesamothamnus lugardii), and several species of corkwood (Commiphora). 2. The Outeniqua Yellowwood, Podocarpus Falcatus
This tree can become very tall, and also develops quite a thick trunk and a broad, deep, dense crown. In terms of massiveness, these can be very imposing, but it's difficult to say just how big the tree can become. So many of them have been cut down, having excellent wood, but in the old days, when they cut them down, they didn't always measure them accurately. It is said that there used to
This tree is in first place because of its potential for overall mass: girth, spread and height combined. The baobab never becomes very tall, seldom exceeding 20 metres in height, but it can become extremely fat with a massive trunk and branches. The biggest baobab in South Africa is only 22 metres in height, but has a trunk that is 10.47 metres in diameter. It has a crown that is 38.2 metres in width. It is therefore almost twice as broad as it is tall! There is another baobab that is shorter, being only 17 metres in height, but having a trunk an incredible 15.9 metres thick! Its crown spreads to 37 metres in width. There are many other individual baobabs that approach or exceed 10 metres in trunk thickness. These trees have the greatest potential for hugeness if allowed to live very long, but how long can they live? In 2007, the biggest baobab in South Africa was officially determined to be about 2,000 years old, and many others may exceed 1,000 years. Baobab wood is very soft and doesn't form growth rings, so the age needs to be determined by taking carbon-14 readings. The baobab grows in warm, dry savannah regions, mainly in the far north of South Africa (and up into the drier parts of tropical Africa), where it is by far the biggest tree. Other trees growing alongside it are mopane (Colophospermum mopane), blue hook thorn (Acacia erubescens), white syringa (Kirkia acuminata), sjambok pod (Cassia abbreviata), sesame bush (Sesamothamnus lugardii), and several species of corkwood (Commiphora). 2. The Outeniqua Yellowwood, Podocarpus Falcatus
This tree can become very tall, and also develops quite a thick trunk and a broad, deep, dense crown. In terms of massiveness, these can be very imposing, but it's difficult to say just how big the tree can become. So many of them have been cut down, having excellent wood, but in the old days, when they cut them down, they didn't always measure them accurately. It is said that there used to