African baobab (Adansonia digitata) in Thane, Maharashtra, India
The baobab is the national tree of Madagascar

Common name: Baobab, Cream of Tartar tree, Monkey-bread tree, Lemonade tree, Vavababa वावबाब (Marathi), Papparappuli பப்பரப்புளி, Periyamaravakai பெரியமரவகை (Tamil)

Botanical name: Adansonia digitata - [ (ad-an-SOH-nee-uh) named for Michel Adanson, 18th century French surgeon, botanist and naturalist; (dig-ee-TAH-tuh) or (dij-ee-TAH-tuh) meaning finger ] Synonyms: Adansonia baobab, Adansonia situla, Adansonia somalensis, Adansonia sphaerocarpa, Adansonia sulcata Family: Bombacaceae

Origin: northeastern, central & southern Africa

Regarded as the largest succulent plant in the world, the baobab tree is steeped in a wealth of mystique, legend and superstition wherever it occurs in Africa. It is a tree that can provide food, water, shelter and relief from sickness. During drought elephants obtain moisture by chewing on the wood - this massive tree stores large quantities of water in its trunk tissues. The stem is covered with a bark layer, which may be 50-100 mm thick. The leaves are hand-sized and divided into 5-7 finger-like leaflets.

Being deciduous, the leaves are dropped during the winter months and appear again in late spring or early summer. The large, pendulous flowers (up to 200 mm in diameter) are white and sweetly scented and are pollinated by bats. They are followed by velvety fruits full of edible acidic pulp sought by both monkeys and people.

Courtesy: - Top Tropicals - Dave's Garden - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - ZipCode Zoo - EcoPort - A Dictionary - Marathi and English - Tamil Lexicon