214 



The Baobab. 



trunk and the spread of the branches. Only under exceptional circum- 

 stances does this tree attain a greater height than twenty-five feet, but 

 specimens are common whose trunks are from twenty to thirty feet in 

 circumference. The branches will extend from the main stem forty or 

 fifty feet, and are sometimes as thick as the trunks of fairly-sized trees. 

 The flowers are white, 

 and the fruit, which is 

 from eight to twelve 

 inches in length, is 

 covered with a green 

 velvety down, changing 

 to brown when dry. The 

 pulp, in which numerous 

 seeds are imbedded, has 

 a slightly acid and very 

 agreeable flavour. The 

 juice mixed with sugar 

 is considered to be a 

 pleasant drink, and also 

 a specific for pestilential 

 fevers. The leaves dried 

 and reduced to powder 

 are extensively used by 

 the Africans to mix with their food, as they are considered to be effective 

 in diminishing excessive perspiration. By Europeans the leaves and bark, 

 as also the fruit are used medicinally in cases of diarrhoea, feveis and 

 other maladies. The bark of the tree is turned to good account by the 

 Africans for making ropes and cloth. The Baobab is known under the 

 English names of Monkey's Bread and Sour Gourd. An allied species. 

 Adansonia Gregorii, commonly known as the Gouty Tree and Cream of 

 Tartar Tree, is indigenous to Northern Australia, and has qualities that 

 should command attention in tropical regions. In habit of growth it is 

 somewhat similar to the African Baobab, though not so large, and from 

 its apparently swollen trunk the name Gouty Tree has originated. The 

 fruit is about six inches in length and three or four in diameter, the pulp 

 having an acid taste somewhat like cream of tartar, hence the other 

 vernacular name. The wood of the Australian species is very soft and 

 spongy, retaining a considerable amount of water which it will yield by 

 pressure. This peculiarity alone \\ould make the tree serviceable in 

 some regions. 



CULTIVATION AND PROPAGATION. 



The African Baobab, as also the Australian species, being natives of 

 tropical regions, can only be cultivated in those parts of Australia where 

 the climatic conditions are similar, In suitable localities both should 

 prove useful acquisitions for their fruit, and also as ornamental trees. 

 They would be at home in the coast districts of Queensland and the 

 Northern Territory, or any other region where the Banana and Pine Apple 



