An upside down tree... {Pictures}

There is something about a Baobab tree that is just fascinating. I can't quite put my finger on it, but if you have ever stood in front of a 2000 year old, 25m high Baobab, you will understand. Just the thought that that single tree has been standing on that very spot since the height of the Roman Empire, more than a thousand years before Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo's birth, right through World War I, and World War II, is something I find hard to fully understand.


The Baobab tree is sometimes called the upside down tree, because during winter months its bare branches resemble the roots of a tree. This name is explained by a very interesting old African legend: The story is that the Baobab was one of the first trees created by God. When Palm Trees and Fig Trees appeared, the Baobab complained that it wanted to be taller and also bear tasty fruit. When God heard the tree's constant complaining, he pulled it out and planted it upside down to keep it quiet.

A large Baobab tree can store up to 100 000 liters of water in its trunk and branches, to help it survive during the dry seasons. This gives you an idea of how large these trees are.

Here are a few pictures of these marvelous trees:

People standing on a deck inside a medium-sized Baobab tree

A woman standing next to a Baobab tree in Limpopo, South Africa

A small Baobab tree in Alldays, South Africa

The hole on the upper right side of this Baobab's trunk is large enough for a full grown man to stand in

To read more about the largest Baobab tree in the world (which is in South Africa, of course), go to:
http://travelever.com/nature/8-the-largest-baobab-in-the-world