Taxon:  Adansonia digitata L.



Summary
Genus:
Adansonia
Family:
Malvaceae
Subfamily:
Bombacoideae
Nomen number:
1433
Place of publication:
Syst. nat. ed. 10, 2:1144.  1759 (Sp. pl. 2:1190.  1753, nom. inval.)
Comment:
genus not validated until 1759, as Linnaeus (in Sp. pl. ed. 1 and Gen. pl.) failed to provide a description or a reference to a previously published one
Verified:
09/29/1995 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
11 (2  active, 2  available) in National Plant Germplasm System.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Adansonia kilima Pettigrew et al.

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)
Seeds

Conservation Status

Reference(s)
  1. PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
  2. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
  3. APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
  4. Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1963-. Flore du Cameroun.
  5. Baum, D. A. 1995. A systematic revision of Adansonia (Bombacaceae). Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 82:452.
  6. Berhaut, J. 1971-. Flore illustrée du Senegal.
  7. Borlaug, N. et al., eds. 2008. Fruits: Baobab. In: National Research Council, Lost crops of Africa. 3:41-59.
  8. Carrisso, L. W. et al., eds. 1937-. Conspectus florae angolensis.
  9. Cron, G. V. et al. 2016. One African baobab species or two? Synonymy of Adansonia kilima and A. digitata. Taxon 65:1037-1049.
  10. Cufodontis, G. 1953-1972. Enumeratio plantarum aethiopiae: Spermatophyta.
  11. Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
  12. Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
  13. Feuillet, C. 1998. pers. comm. Note: re. French common names
  14. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
  15. Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
  16. Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
  17. Humbert, J.-H., ed. 1936-. Flore de Madagascar et des Comores.
  18. Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
  19. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
  20. Merxmüller, H., ed. 1966-1972. Prodromus einer flora von Sudwestafrika.
  21. Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
  22. Pock Tsy, J.-M. L. et al. 2009. Chloroplast DNA phylogeography suggests a West African centre of origin for the baobab, Adansonia digitata L. (Bombacoideae, Malvaceae). Molec. Ecol. 18:1707-1715.
  23. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
  24. Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
  25. Wiehle, M. et al. 2014. The African baobab ( Adansonia digitata, Malvaceae): Genetic resources in neglected populations of the Nuba mountains, Sudan. Amer. J. Bot. 101:1498-1507.
  26. Wyk, B.-E. van et al. 2009. Medicinal plants of South Africa Note: Briza Publications, Pretoria, South Africa
Common names
LanguageNameAlternate namenoteseqCitation
Englishbaobab  1Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Englishdead-rat-tree  1Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
Englishmonkey-bread-tree  1Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
Afrikaanskremetart  2Wyk, B.-E. van et al. 2009. Medicinal plants of South Africa Note: Briza Publications, Pretoria, South Africa
Frenchcalebassier du Sénégal  2Feuillet, C. 1998. pers. comm. Note: re. French common names
Frenchpain de singe  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
GermanAffenbrotbaum  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Portuguese (Angola)imbondeiro  2Borlaug, N. et al., eds. 2008. Fruits: Baobab. In: National Research Council, Lost crops of Africa. 3:41-59.
Portuguese (Brazil)baobá  2Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Swedishbaobab  2Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNoteReference
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaKenya  Baum, D. A. 1995. A systematic revision of Adansonia (Bombacaceae). Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 82:452.
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaTanzania  Baum, D. A. 1995. A systematic revision of Adansonia (Bombacaceae). Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 82:452.
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaChad  Baum, D. A. 1995. A systematic revision of Adansonia (Bombacaceae). Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 82:452.
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaEthiopia  Cufodontis, G. 1953-1972. Enumeratio plantarum aethiopiae: Spermatophyta.
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaSomalia  Cufodontis, G. 1953-1972. Enumeratio plantarum aethiopiae: Spermatophyta.
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaSudan  Wiehle, M. et al. 2014. The African baobab ( Adansonia digitata, Malvaceae): Genetic resources in neglected populations of the Nuba mountains, Sudan. Amer. J. Bot. 101:1498-1507.
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaAngola  Carrisso, L. W. et al., eds. 1937-. Conspectus florae angolensis.
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaMalawi  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaMozambique  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaZambia  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaZimbabwe  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaBotswana  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaNamibia  Merxmüller, H., ed. 1966-1972. Prodromus einer flora von Sudwestafrika.
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaTransvaal PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaBenin  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaBurkina Faso  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaCôte D'Ivoire  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaGhana  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaGuinea  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaMali  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaNiger  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaSenegal  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaSierra Leone  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaTogo  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest-Central Tropical AfricaCameroon  Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1963-. Flore du Cameroun.
1NativeAfricaWest-Central Tropical AfricaDemocratic Republic of the Congo  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWestern Indian OceanMadagascar  Humbert, J.-H., ed. 1936-. Flore de Madagascar et des Comores.
2CultivatedAfrica Africa  Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2CultivatedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentBangladesh  Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2CultivatedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia  Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2CultivatedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentSri Lanka  Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2CultivatedAsia-TropicalMalesiaIndonesiaJawa Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2CultivatedSouthern America South America  Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2CultivatedSouthern AmericaCaribbeanWest Indies  Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
4Naturalized    widely natzd. in tropicsBaum, D. A. 1995. A systematic revision of Adansonia (Bombacaceae). Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 82:452.
Native
Africa
  • NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Chad
  • EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania
  • WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo
  • SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
  • SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Namibia, South Africa [Transvaal]
  • WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Madagascar
Cultivated
Africa
  • REGION: Africa
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka
  • MALESIA: Indonesia [Jawa]
Southern America
  • CARIBBEAN: West Indies
  • REGION: South America
Naturalized (widely natzd. in tropics)

Reference(s)
  1. PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
  2. Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1963-. Flore du Cameroun.
  3. Baum, D. A. 1995. A systematic revision of Adansonia (Bombacaceae). Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 82:452.
  4. Carrisso, L. W. et al., eds. 1937-. Conspectus florae angolensis.
  5. Cufodontis, G. 1953-1972. Enumeratio plantarum aethiopiae: Spermatophyta.
  6. Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
  7. Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
  8. Humbert, J.-H., ed. 1936-. Flore de Madagascar et des Comores.
  9. Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
  10. Merxmüller, H., ed. 1966-1972. Prodromus einer flora von Sudwestafrika.
  11. Wiehle, M. et al. 2014. The African baobab ( Adansonia digitata, Malvaceae): Genetic resources in neglected populations of the Nuba mountains, Sudan. Amer. J. Bot. 101:1498-1507.
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Environmentalornamental Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
Human foodbeverage base Borlaug, N. et al., eds. 2008. Fruits: Baobab. In: National Research Council, Lost crops of Africa. 3:41-59.
Human foodfruit Borlaug, N. et al., eds. 2008. Fruits: Baobab. In: National Research Council, Lost crops of Africa. 3:41-59.
Human foodoil/fat Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Human foodseeds Borlaug, N. et al., eds. 2008. Fruits: Baobab. In: National Research Council, Lost crops of Africa. 3:41-59.
Materialsfiber Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Materialslipids Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Materialstannin/dyestuff Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Medicinesfolklore Wyk, B.-E. van et al. 2009. Medicinal plants of South Africa Note: Briza Publications, Pretoria, South Africa
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=1433. Accessed 15 April 2026.