This Boabab is considered to the oldest Baobab tree in Zambia. It is estimated that The Big Tree may be about 2,000 years old based on girth and growth ring data collected from other trees. That being said, it is thought to be much younger and may be made up of three separate tree trunks (or trees) due to its deep incisions. A shame about all the graffiti.
Size: Baobabs are long-lived deciduous, small to large trees from 5 to 30 m (20 to 100 ft) tall with broad trunks and compact crowns. Young trees usually have slender, tapering trunks, often with a swollen base. Mature trees have massive trunks that are bottle-shaped or cylindrical and tapered from bottom to top. The trunk is made of fibrous wood arranged in concentric rings, although rings are not always formed annually and so cannot be used to determine the age of individual trees. Tree diameter fluctuates with rainfall so it is thought that water may be stored in the trunk. Baobab trees have two types of shoots—long, green vegetative ones, and stout, woody reproductive ones. Branches can be massive and spread out horizontally from the trunk or are ascending.
Much of the baobab is edible. The roots of the younger trees have a high nutritional value and parts of the roots are dried and ground into porridge. The leaves are eaten like spinach and the fruit is high in vitamin C. The seeds can be sucked to relieve thirst, roasted and ground to make coffee and used in soups. The oil of the baobab is rich in Vitamin D and healthy fatty acids, which can moisture and repair damaged skin. The bark can be used as rope, fishing nets and clothes.
It has no heartwood so the inside of the tree is very pulpy and contains 40% moisture. The bark is often torn off, but the tree is special as it won’t die if it is ring-barked, as the nutrients are carried in the entire inner and other parts not just in the cambium later such as most other trees. The ash from the burnt wood is often used as table salt.
It flowers for only 24 hours. The flowers are pollinated by fruit bats and eaten by antelope when it falls to the ground. It is steeped in many African legends and it is believed that the spirits of many tribe ancestors live in the tree and the chiefs would hold council under these trees so they may receive guidance by their fore fathers.