Things I Like - Sciences

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I’ve mentioned my love of trees before; they truly are my favorite of the flora kingdom. But I have to admit that the baobab ranks pretty low on the list. The poor things are really hideous. The specimen above is about as attractive as they get – at least this one has a strange kind of symmetry going on

Check out this "Teapot" baobab - they don't get much freakier looking. And the fruit is pretty scary too, kind of alien.

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It turns out that the baobab, found in Africa, Australia and Madagascar, is likely the most useful tree on the planet. In addition to the fruit, which has huge amounts of vitamin C and calcium, the leaves are also edible and the roots have been used for medicinal purposes.

But wait, there's more - this is the K-Tel of trees. The bark is used to make string, rope and twine, and the gum of the tree can be used as glue. The trunk stores water - it's been estimated that one tree can hold up to 120,000 liters. They can even be hollowed out and used for shelter (apparently this does not harm the living tree) or prisons, even.

Right now, the baobab grows wild and anyone who wants to can harvest what they need. This age-old tradition may be about to change. It seems that the rest of the world has discovered the health benefits of this amazing tree and the baobab is on the verge of becoming the next pomegranate. In order to meet the expected demand (the market is estimated at $1 Billion annually) for baobab product, the tree will likely need to be planted as a crop. Why is this a problem?

Although local people would probably find jobs on such farms, their ability to harvest or purchase the baobab themselves would be limited. They wouldn’t be able to pay as much as London dealers could. This means that some Africans could lose a source of household wealth, an important part of their diet and an essential pharmaceutical resource.
~The NY Times

I don't know what the answer is, I'm just glad that it's too cold to grow baobabs in Chicago. Seriously.