Category: Uncategorized
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Mahajanga’s ‘Grand Baobab’
Mahajanga’s ‘Grand Baobab’ The ‘Grand Baobab’ of Mahajanga (Majunga), the old port on the west coast of the island, is an important symbol of the city and the region. Mahajanga has been a major commercial port since 1745 and was likely an important port for Arab dhow traffic long before that. The Grand Baobab is…
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The Baobabs of Northern Madagascar
The baobabs of northern Madagascar The rarest baobab tree in the world is Adansonia perrieri. Satellite mapping by CIRAD indicates that there are fewer than 200 of these trees known to exist. We hiked for 2 1/2 hours on slippery leech infested trails in Amber Mountain National Park to see two trees beside the Antomboka…
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The Baobabs of Morandava
The Morondava Baobabs Three species of baobab are found in the dry forest north of Morandava on the west coast of Madagascar. We entered this area from the north, having taken pirogue (dug-out canoe) down the Tsiribihinia River from Mirandrivazo. On the third day on the river we entered baobab country. The locals call this…
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The world of baobabs
Sometimes called the ‘upside-down tree’, the baobab tree is usually identified with the continent of Africa. One species, Adansonia digitata, is wide-spread on the African continent. Another species, Adansonia gibbosa is found in a limited area of Northern Australia. The island of Madagascar has six indigenous species (A. madagascarensis, A. perrieri, A. suarezensis, A. grandidieri,…