Adansonia

. Adansonia . Adansonia is a genus of trees of the . bombacaceae family according to the classical classification, or that of the Malvaceae according to the phylogenetic classification. These are trees that emerge from the savannah, withstand intense heat, can live very old and measure 40 meters high. Its species are commonly called . baobab, or sometimes . bottle tree . fruits, . akoussa , or . monkey bread, have various food or cosmetic uses. In Madagascar, it is called . renala , which means “mother of the forest”. . baobab generally grows quite sparingly. It has a pot-bellied trunk and soft, water-soaked wood (called the bottle tree for this reason). With its characteristic appearance, it is generally very massive and can reach 25 m in height and more than 20 m in circumference; its diameter reaches 5 to 7 m. It has a crown of irregular, leafless branches at the top of the trunk for most of the dry season, which can be a long period in areas with a short rainy season . This is one of the explanations for its name "the upside down tree", because with its bare branches it appears to have been turned over with its roots at the top. The bark is fibrous, gray and smooth, giving it an almost shiny appearance when viewed from a distance, sometimes irregularly tuberculate. It is between five and ten centimeters thick. Therefore, the tree can survive minor bush fires relatively unscathed. The tree is hard on the outside and fibrous on the inside. Young trees first have a taproot that allows them to anchor themselves to the ground, then as they age, the root system extends radially and shallowly beyond the height of the tree. The main roots of older trees are relatively shallow and rarely extend beyond 2 m below the soil surface. Baobabs are therefore very sensitive to strong winds such as storms or thunderstorms, which can occasionally uproot them.