The Boab
Tree
Scientific Name:
Adansonia Gregori
Habitat
The Boab Tree – also known as the bottle tree – is
only found in Western Australia in the Kimberly
Region. They are commonly seen between
Kununurra and Broome. The Boab tree originated
from the Madagascan and African Baobab tree.
The Baobab trees and the Boab trees are very
similar, except that Baobab trees have skinnier
trunks than Boab, although not by much. Baobabs
are also much wider spread than Boab, being
found in Africa, Madagascar, India, Ceylon, and
Zimbabwe.
Diet
Desert plants have a different way of using
photosynthesis, as water is always the main
priority. One of the reasons Boabs shed their
leaves, is to save water that was used in
photosynthesis or lost from transpiration
(sweating). Boabs open their stomata during the
night to receive carbon dioxide to breathe, and
close it again during the day to save water.
Behaviour
The Boab trees are a slow growing tree, taking 100 – 1000 years to
grow to maturity. This may seem like a long time, but Boab trees can
survive beyond 1500 years of age, making them the oldest living thing
in Australia, and one of the oldest living things in the wold. During the
dry season, the Boab tree drops its leaves, and regrows them during
the wet season, when they also flower and produce fruits. The
flowering can start as early as October, and the first fruits start growing
in January. The trees are always covered in leaves before the first rains
arrive, somehow, they know when the rains are coming. The Boab trees
have small leaves to minimise water lose, and they also store large
amounts of water in the natural hollows of their branches and in the
trunk, this way, they can survive long periods of time without rainfall.
They have the ability to store 650L of water in each cubic metre of tree,
making the entire tree 76% water. Despite having so much water, the
Boab trees are extremely cautious with how much water they use, as
they live in a very dry environment.
Reproduction
It is unknown how the Boab trees arrived in Australia, but there are
two main theories: The seeds floated from Africa and landed on the
coast of Australia, or, the trees survived from when Africa and Australia
were still part of the same continent 65 million years ago. The Boab
trees have seeds in the fruit that they grow. Each fruit has more than
300 seeds in it, and an adult Boab tree can produce over 200 fruits each
season. The fruit falls to the ground, and breaks open, allowing the
seeds to get to the soil, sometimes, the seeds can also be transported
by animals after the fruit is eaten by them. Young Boab trees need
sufficient water, light, heat and nutrients. The most concerning
problem for these seeds, is the lack of rainfall, as Boab trees grow in
dry areas with little rainfall each year. Once a Boab tree grows a taproot
to store water, having enough water becomes easier. Although the
Boab seeds need water to grow, too much water can kill smaller roots
of the seed by causing root rot.
Small, thin, green
leaves to minimise
water lose, that
Appearance and Annotated Nuts (or fruit) that
grow on thee Boab
trees during the wet
usually have 5 – 9
leaflets. Flowers alsoDiagram season are usually
oval, but can also be
round. The nuts are
bloom during the wet
season that are white covered in fine light
and have a pinkish hue olive to brownish hair,
to them. but the actual fruit is
dark brown. The seeds
are a kidney shape and
are surrounded by a
white pith. Fruits hang
from the tree.
Approximately 15m tall
and 20m wide trunk,
which store water Natural hollows on
inside, as well as in the the outside of the
natural hollows of trunk to store
branches and the extra water in case
outside of the trunk. of drought. Boab
The bark is greyish trees use their
brown and very smooth. water sparingly,
but always have
another place for
more of it.
Claims about adaptations
Many of the Boab tree’s adaptation are to enable it to
store more water. The tree has small leaves to minimise
water loss, helping it during a drought. The Boab tree has
a huge swollen trunk to store more water, again, in case of
a drought. If that’s not enough, there are natural hollows
in the branches and on the outside of the huge trunk to
store even more water. The nuts have a hard shell to
protect the seeds inside of it from animals and harsh
elements, such as the heat of the day and the cold of the
night. Most of these adaptions are to increase water
storage, as drought can last for any number of years. The
Boab tree is a prime example of being prepared for the
future.
