| General Description | Cylindrical trunk roughly 3 m across and growing towards 25 – 30 m tall with smooth reddish-grey bark. It has green palmate leaves with a blue tinge, flowers with white petals, and oval fruit that is edible and very nutritious. It is considered an endangered species. |
| ID Characteristic | The Adansonia grandidieri has a large trunk with smooth reddish grey bark. It harbours large green blueish palmate leaves, round brown buds with white flowers that bloom near dusk. It has greyer bark when younger, turning reddish with age. The tree looks as if it's planted upside down. The trunk holds large amounts of water to withstand the dry months. |
| Shape | Tall cylinder-shaped trunk with root like branches, and foliage at the top of the tree. the bonsai is a much smaller scale of the tree but still maintains its shape. |
| Landscape | It is found in the south western side of Madagascar within dry areas of forest, and in between the open farmland. Can be used as a bonsai in a greenhouse or as a houseplant. |
| Propagation | Remove the seed from the fruit, soak the seeds in hot water to help break the shell for 24 hours. Should be planted in well draining soil about 5 cm deep during the spring and summer months, water regularly. Place seed trays in a warm semi-shaded spot. Germination should take about 2 to 6 weeks. Once the plant is about 5 cm tall transplant into separate pots with sandy soil and compost. |
| Cultivation | Often grows near sources of water in dry areas of deciduous forests with direct light, but now can be found in the areas between growing agriculture. It has evolved to withstand quite dry areas that experience high temperatures and poor precipitation year-round. The tree begins to leaf in the autumn to spring months, flowering through the summer months (starting in May). The flowers open around when the sun goes down, and nocturnal pollinators (such as moths and lemurs) become active. Does not thrive in urban environments due to its size. |
| Pests | The largest threat to the tree is humans. Loss of habitat to farmland, fires to clear space for cattle, consumption of fruit, use of its wood for building material, and use of the bark for medicine are examples of this threat. This has caused it to be designated on the endangered species list with only one million mature trees left. |
| Notable Specimens | The best place to find these trees is in their natural habitat, found in the western parts of Madagascar. |
| Habitat | Found near farmland, or in more remote forests near water sources in dry western parts of Madagascar. |
| Bark/Stem Description | At a young age the tree has smooth grey bark that maintains its cylinder shape into adulthood, where it begins to turn more reddish grey. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description | The flower buds are large, round, and brown, with an almost felt like appearance at the end of the branch. The leaf buds are also brown, but much smaller compared to the flower bud, appearing in bunches of about two to five. |
| Leaf Description | This tree has blueish green palmately compound lanceolate leaves, with an acute apices and acute base. The leaves have a pinnate venation with palmate leaf margins. The five to seven leaflets are around 11cm in length and around 5cm at the widest point. The leaves appear in the months between October and May. |
| Flower Description | The flower for this tree has a brown bud before blooming. During the summer months of May to August, they bloom into large white flowers with multiple petals and many stamens. They bloom when it begins to get darker, as one of the ways they get pollinated is through nocturnal mammals and insects (such as lemurs and moths). When blooming, the flowers have been said to produce a sour watermelon smell. |
| Fruit Description | The fruit of this tree can be seen during the months of November and December. They are initially a fuzzy green, turning into brown pods about the size of a baseball when they ripen. They contain very oil rich seeds and a tasty filling. People harvest them by building ladders into the tree, this does damage the tree. |
| Colour Description | The leaves are a blueish green most of the time, turning brown when the dry season starts. The bark starts out as a slightly dark grey but once it begins to mature it turns to a redder colour. The fruit starts out green then turns to a fuzzy brown when ripened. The flowers begin as brown buds. When in bloom they’re white, turn to a yellow white when they age and fall off. |
| Texture Description | Initially, tree seems to have a rougher texture yet it is still smooth and it harbours a smoother texture once matured. Texture seems to stay consistent throughout the year. |