I don't usually "do" favourite things because I just have such a hard time trying to decide between all the possibilities. But I am decidedly decided on trees - my favourite is most definitely the Baobab. Without equal, it is the most magnificent and grotesque tree you could ever hope to encounter. Swollen trunks, leafless in the dry season, the trees in Dr Seuss books have nothing on the Baobab!All hands in the air like they just don't care.
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| This tree is growing in Derby, Australia. |
During the rainy season, they soak a huge amount of water into spongy fibers in their massive trunks and roots. They don't grown annual rings like other trees, so while it's generally assumed they live for more than 2000 years, it's impossible to tell. The upper part of the trunk is often hollow and no doubt used as shelter by nomadic peoples and stock over the ages. In the early pioneering days in the Kimberley, the Boabs (as they are known in Australia) even had gates fitted to the openings in the trunk and were used as prisons! Imagine that?
There is 1 species in Australia, 6 in Madagascar and 1 in the African savannah - proof (if we ever needed more) of the existence of the great southern super-continent Gondwana. I was wishfully thinking I'd like to attend the
World Botanical Congress in Melbourne in late July, and most especially the eight day trek across the Kimberley from Broome to Kununurra. I've always wanted to go on a guided trek through this bit of Australia - it is home to some of the most spectacular, ancient and diverse flora and fauna in Australia, and it's also smack in the middle of Boab country. Alas at ~NZ$5,000 for the trek, it was a bit too pricey for me at this stage (and has actually been cancelled now), so for now I will just marvel these trees from afar and plan for my adventure another day. A day when I can get up-close in person to a few trees, give them a great big hug and tell them they really are my favourites.
