Adansonia perrieri

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Adansonia perrieri
MALVACEAE-BOMBAC., ADANSONIA PERRIERI Capuron 0046 (23373581353).jpg
Adansonia perrieri in
Darwin Botanic Gardens

Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Adansonia
Species:
A. perrieri
Binomial name
Adansonia perrieri

Adansonia perrieri, or Perrier's baobab, is a

critically endangered species of deciduous tree, in the genus Adansonia. This species is endemic to northern Madagascar.[1] It has been documented in only 10 locations, including the Ankarana, Ampasindava, Loky Manambato and Montagne d'Ambre protected areas. Most populations, however, are outside of protected areas. Each location has few individuals (the largest subpopulation has 43 trees). With an estimated population of fewer than 250 mature individuals and ongoing habitat decline due to fire and cutting for charcoal and timber or clearing for mining, this species has been assessed by IUCN as Critically Endangered.[1] There are three species of baobab found in northern Madagascar, all sharing the common name "bozy".[2]

Description

General

Perrier's baobab is a medium to large deciduous tree, growing to 30 m tall, occurring in evergreen rainforests and forming an important component of dry deciduous forest.[1] The trunk is roughly cylindrical and the bark a smooth, pale grey. Baobab trees have two types of shoots – long, green vegetative ones, and stout, woody reproductive ones.[2]

Leaves

This is a deciduous tree, with leaves throughout the wet season (November to April) but none in the dry season. Leaves are

simple leaves. The transition to compound leaves comes with age and may be gradual. Stipules occur at the base of the leaves, are triangular or linear and up to 15 mm long. In most baobabs, stipules are soon shed, but they are persistent in A. perrieri.[2]

Flowers

Baobabs have large, showy flowers that in Perrier's baobab emerge with or just before the leaves, flowering November to December. Flowers are born near the tips of reproductive shoots, in the axils of the leaves. There is usually only a singe flower in an axil, but sometimes flowers occur in pairs. The flowers are reproductive for a maximum of 15 hours. They open around dusk; opening so quickly that movement can be detected by the naked eye and are faded by the next morning.

Xanthopan morganii).[2]

Fruits

The fruits are large (up to 25 cm long), oblong to egg-shaped and berry-like. They are ripe in October and November. They have a tough 8–9 mm thick outer wall and hold kidney-shaped seeds in a dry, pulpy matrix. The fruits are buoyant and at least in some populations may be dispersed by floating along water courses.[2]

Uses

Fruits are collected for their edible pulp,[2] and trees are cut for charcoal or timber.[1]

Taxonomy

The specific Latin epithet of perrieri refers to the French botanist Joseph Marie Henry Alfred Perrier de la Bâthie (1873–1958), who studied plants in Madagascar.[3] It was first described and published in Notul. Syst. (Paris) Vol.16 on page 66 in 1960.[4]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T33612A64366847.en
    . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Baum, D.A., 1995, A Systematic Revision of Adansonia (Bombacaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden , 1995, Vol. 82, No. 3 (1995), pp. 440-471
  3. ^ G.E. Wickens The Baobabs: Pachycauls of Africa, Madagascar and Australia, p. 259, at Google Books
  4. ^ "Adansonia perrieri Capuron | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
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