Editing Adansonia digitata

{| class="wikitable" style="float: right; width: 320px; margin-left: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 1em;"
|-
! colspan="2" style="background: #e8e8e8;" | African baobab (''Adansonia digitata'')
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | [[File:Adansonia digitata Bark Selous Game Reserve.jpg|250px|Adansonia digitata bark in Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania]]
|-
! Scientific name
| [[Adansonia digitata]] <sup id="cite_ref-1">[[#cite_note-1|[1]]]</sup>
|-
! Common names
| African baobab; baobab
|-
! Genus
| [[Adansonia]]
|-
! Family
| [[Malvaceae]]
|-
! Order
| [[Malvales]] <sup id="cite_ref-2">[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>
|-
! Growth form
| Deciduous, pachycaulous tree
|-
! Native range
| Sub-Saharan Africa and southern Arabia <sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>
|-
| Mature size
| About 20 m in a cultivation account <sup id="cite_ref-3">[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup>
|-
! Climate and site
| African thorn savanna and related dry woodland; 4–10 dry months in the habitat account <sup id="cite_ref-4">[[#cite_note-4|[4]]]</sup>
|-
! Propagation
| Seed; staged shade-to-sun acclimation is documented <sup>[[#cite_note-5|[5]]]</sup>
|-
! Fruit
| Edible fruit used in drinks <sup>[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup>
|-
! Harvest
| April–May in southern Africa <sup>[[#cite_note-4|[4]]]</sup>
|}

'''Adansonia digitata''' is a deciduous, drought-adapted baobab of African thorn savannas and related dry woodland. It sheds its leaves during the dry season and stores water in its swollen trunk, so cultivation should follow its active-season and dry-season rhythm rather than keeping it continuously wet. <sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> <sup>[[#cite_note-4|[4]]]</sup>

== Description ==

This species forms a pachycaulous tree with a very thick trunk and can reach about 20 m. Its native distribution extends across much of sub-Saharan Africa and into southern Arabia. <sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> <sup>[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup>

== Cultivation ==

=== Soil and water ===

Adansonia digitata occurs in thorn-savanna settings across a range of soils and is associated in the habitat account with sites having a high water table. A cautious cultivation inference is to provide a freely draining root zone with dependable moisture access during active growth, while avoiding prolonged saturation in containers; drought adaptation should not be treated as proof of tolerance for stagnant water. <sup>[[#cite_note-4|[4]]]</sup>

=== Sun and humidity ===

The species is associated with open, seasonally dry thorn savanna rather than closed wet forest. Established plants therefore suit high light and good airflow. Young seedlings need staged light acclimation: the documented sequence begins with shade, moves through half shade, and ends in full sun. <sup>[[#cite_note-4|[4]]]</sup> <sup>[[#cite_note-5|[5]]]</sup>

=== Seasonal changes ===

The native climate includes a pronounced dry season lasting about 4–10 months, during which the tree loses its leaves and relies on stored trunk water. As a cultivation inference, irrigation should be reduced during the leafless dry-season phase and increased only as active growth resumes; the exact schedule depends on temperature, container size, and drainage. Southern-African flowering is recorded from October through December and fruiting from April through May, but those months are regional rather than a universal calendar for the species. <sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> <sup>[[#cite_note-4|[4]]]</sup>

== Propagation ==

Propagation is by seed. After emergence, the documented nursery sequence keeps seedlings shaded for 8 days, moves them to half shade for 4–7 days, and then exposes them to full sun. Transplanting is delayed until seedlings are 3–4 months old and 40–50 cm tall. <sup id="cite_ref-5">[[#cite_note-5|[5]]]</sup>

== Flowering, fruiting, and harvest ==

In the southern-African regional account, flowering occurs from October through December and fruiting from April through May. Pollination involves nocturnal animals including bats and bush babies, with insects also recorded as visitors. The flowering and fruiting months should be shifted to the local wet/dry or warm/cool cycle rather than copied as a fixed global schedule. <sup>[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup> <sup>[[#cite_note-4|[4]]]</sup>

== Fruit and uses ==

The fruit is edible and is used in drinks. That food-use record does not by itself establish safety for every preparation, so it should not be extended to medicinal or other health claims. <sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> <sup>[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup>

== References ==

* <span id="cite_note-1"></span>[[#cite_ref-1|↑]] '''[1]''' [https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/match?name=Adansonia%20digitata GBIF species match: Adansonia digitata].

* <span id="cite_note-2"></span>[[#cite_ref-2|↑]] '''[2]''' [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adansonia_digitata Adansonia digitata].

* <span id="cite_note-3"></span>[[#cite_ref-3|↑]] '''[3]''' [https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Adansonia+digitata Adansonia digitata - Plants For A Future Plant Database].

* <span id="cite_note-4"></span>[[#cite_ref-4|↑]] '''[4]''' [https://apps.worldagroforestry.org/treedb2/AFTPDFS/Adansonia_digitata.PDF Adansonia digitata - Agroforestry Database 4.0].

* <span id="cite_note-5"></span>[[#cite_ref-5|↑]] '''[5]''' [https://web.archive.org/web/20140220040818/http://curis.ku.dk/portal-life/files/20497189/adansonia_109.pdf Adansonia digitata L.: Seed Leaflet 109].

== Image credits ==

* ''Adansonia digitata Bark Selous Game Reserve.jpg'' — subject: Adansonia digitata bark in Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania; photographer Awinch1001; own work; CC0 (Creative Commons Zero/Public Domain Dedication). [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adansonia_digitata_Bark_Selous_Game_Reserve.jpg File page].

[[Category:Fruits]]
[[Category:Adansonia]]