About Adansonia madagascariensis Baill.
Adansonia madagascariensis Baill. is a tree ranging from 5 metres (16.4 ft) to 20 metres (65.6 ft) in height. It has a bottle-shaped to cylindrical trunk, an irregular crown, and smooth, pale gray bark. Its leaves are palmate with 5 to 7 leaflets, and are only present from November to April. Flowers grow alongside leaves between February and April; they are large, fragrant, and most often have dark red petals, though yellow petals occur rarely. At the center of each flower, a red stigma sits atop a dark red style. Flowers open at dusk, finish blooming by dawn, and are pollinated by long-tongued hawkmoths. Fruits ripen by November; they have a tough, thick shell, are rounded, and are usually less than 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long, which is smaller than the fruits of most other baobab species. These trees commonly grow along watercourses, and their thick-shelled fruit are likely dispersed by water. This Madagascar baobab grows on limestone, sandstone, or gneiss, typically in dry to moist deciduous forests. It occurs in scattered locations from Antsiranana, at Madagascar's northern tip, south along the west coast to the Sambirano region, and may reach as far south as Soalala. Early sources incorrectly reported this species also grew in southeastern Madagascar, but those populations have since been reclassified as Adansonia za.
