THE AFRICAN BAOBAB: REVIEW

 

Never have the illustrations in a nature publication kept me so enthralled. (Review by Dee Stead)

 

“If any plant or animal were to inspire notion of animism or religion and to offer resting places for spirits or gods, surely it would be the baobab” reads an introductory note on Rupert Watson’s book The African Baobab.

In this absorbing account of one of the African continent’s oldest botanical wonders, Rupert Watson explores the life and times of the majestic baobab. 

Leafing through this book when I received it, I was so enchanted by the myriad superb photographs that reading was put on hold for a day or two.

 

Never have the illustrations in a nature publication kept me so enthralled. Not only is this account a cornucopia of photographic gems, it is well written, informative and entertaining. In each chapter, the narrative focus is on a different aspect of these giants of the floral kingdom and has been informed by both academic research and personal observations the author has made during his travels in Africa to the regions where baobabs grow.

The first few chapters cover baobabs in mythology and history, the distribution and ranges of these “calabash trees” and include the six different species of baobab endemic to Madagascar.

The first written reference to baobabs dates back to 1353 by Iben Battuta, a traveller from Tangier. In 1757, the French botanist Michel Adanson, posted to West Africa to research the natural resources there described these unusual trees to his mentor in France and in 1759 the “father of taxonomy” Carolus Linnaeus, Latinized Adanson’s name in giving these trees the generic taxonomic classification “Adansonia” which exists to this day.

Further chapters are devoted to accounts of the growth patterns and reproductive cycles from flower to seed to fruit and the agents of pollination and seed dispersal, all illustrated with exquisite old botanical diagrams and photographs. These are followed by information on the many uses of baobabs by animals in the wild and by humans over the ages as a source of water, for shelter, for medicine and for spiritual applications.

The ecological value of the baobabs is clearly described, as is the disturbing question of the future for these iconic giants in Africa in the light of climate change and the shrinking of their range as a result of human interference and population increase and spread. – Dee Stead

 

Note: Rupert Watson has lived and worked in Kenya for the past 45 years and writes on natural history and travel.