Stranger in a foreign land: Days numbered for African baobabs

MADURAI: With their massive trunk and thick foliage, the lone baobab trees (Adansonia digitata) dotting the Ramanathapuram coast certainly look out of place. The fascinating trees, natives of Africa, are believed to have been brought to the southern coast by Arab horse traders who conducted business with Tamil kings.
Arab traders brought branches and seeds of baobabs as feed for the horses, says V Rajaguru, convener of the Ramanathapuram Archaeological and Historical Conservation Centre.“According to a stone inscription dating back to 1269 AD at Theerthandapuram temple, there were many trading communities in Tamil Nadu involved in foreign trade. Archaeological evidences also suggest that Arab, Roman and Chinese traders used to trade at ports like Alagankulam, Thondi and Periapattinam. The trees must have come as part of horse trade the region had with the Arabian Peninsula,” he told TOI.
Baobab trees found in Rameswaram, Thangachimadam, Devipattinam, Alagankulam, Senthanenthal, Erwadi Dharga, Mummudisathan and Vedhiarenthal in Sivaganga district have survived several centuries, Rajaguru says. “However, many old trees along the coastal areas have been destroyed. A lot of trees were torched and cut down since local people don’t know their use. The trees are known as ‘ponthanpuli’ in Tamil, and there is a village with that name near Kamudhi. But not even a single baobab tree can be found there,” he adds.
Retired district forest officer V Sundararaju, who is documenting old trees of Tamil Nadu, agrees. “The massive trees have multiple medicinal properties. But since the wood is very soft, the trees don’t have commercial value. So local people don’t prefer them,” he says.
As baobabs don’t grow in waterlogged areas and can’t survive heavy rainfall, they are limited to Southern Tamil Nadu where the climatic condition is ideal for them, Sundararaju adds.
A couple of the trees are found in Madurai also. There are three baobabs in the American College campus -- two near the Washburn Gate and one near the staff residence area. “Though rare in India, there are a couple of old baobabs in North India too. Though they are useful from bark to flower, the trees are facing extinction here,” says assistant professor M Rajesh.
African baobabs thrive in sub-Saharan countries of Africa where the rainfall is minimal and the climate is arid. As they store life-saving water in their trunks, baobabs are called the tree of life.
Tale of a travelling tree
Baobab trees are found in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and other tropical countries and Arabian Peninsula, which have hot climatic conditions with low rainfall
There are eight species of baobabs, one African variety, six from Madagascar and one from Australia
The African variety, Adansonia digitata named after French surgeon Michel Adanson, is the largest and is found in 20 sub-Saharan countries
They arrived in India through trade routes. Some of them grow along the Ramanathapuram coast, one in Manamadurai area, three in Madurai, one in Rajapalayam and a few in Chennai
Tree of life
African baobabs are predominantly used in African traditional medicine. Their fruit pulp is used to cure fever and diarrhoea
Powdered leaves are used as anti-asthmatic with antihistamine and anti-tension properties. Leave are used to treat fatigue, for insect bites, guinea worm disease, internal pains and dysentery
Fruit and leaves are also used in treating kidney and bladder diseases, and malaria
Oil extracted from the seeds are used to treat gum diseases and skin diseases
A man under survival stress can use baobab bark, roots and leaves as a source of sustenance; thus deriving the name tree of life