Baobab

Plant photography
coming soon

Photo Credit

—

1 of 1

Common Names

Afrikaans

Kremetartboom · Baobab

English

Baobab · Tree of Life

Khoikhoi

not documented

Ndebele

umkhombe

San

not documented

Sepedi

mowana

Sesotho

mowana

Setswana

mowana

Swati

umkhombe

Tsonga

rihlandzu

Venda

muvhuyu

Xhosa

isiMuku

Zulu

umShimulu · isiMuku

Common Name

Baobab

Scientific Name

Adansonia digitata

Family

Malvaceae

Native Region

Widespread across warmer regions of Africa; in South Africa concentrated in Limpopo province.

Annual
Production

500–1,500 t

Export Revenue

R30–80m

Export Markets

EU, UK, USA

Livelihoods

1,000–3,000

Protection & Benefit Sharing

No GI No GI protection. EU Novel Food approval confirmed 27 June 2008, unlocking the European market.

No BSA No formal agreement. Venda, Tsonga and Sotho communities hold deep traditional knowledge; PhytoTrade Africa advocates for community benefit.

Organic Certified organic production available from Limpopo producers.

Wild Harvest Entirely wild-harvested in South Africa. Venda communities hold traditional harvesting rights; sustainable at current scale.

Provinces

ECEastern Cape

FSFree State

GTGauteng

KZNKwaZulu-Natal

LIMLimpopo

MPMpumalanga

NCNorthern Cape

NWNorth West

WCWestern Cape

Key

Registered farm

Certified organic

Introduction

The African Baobab is an iconic, long-lived tree native to the Limpopo lowveld. Its vitamin-rich fruit pulp has become a globally recognized superfood, while the bark and seeds offer secondary medicinal and craft applications.

Active Compounds

Vitamin C
Calcium
Tartaric acid
Polyphenols
Triterpenoids

Traditional Uses

Rehydration
Fever/Malaria
Kidney disease
Wound healing
Nutritional supplement

Clinically Validated

Prebiotic activity supporting Lactobacillus (Coe & Ryan, 2016)
High antioxidant capacity (ORAC/DPPH assays)
Blood glucose modulation potential (Coe et al., 2013)
Anti-inflammatory bark triterpenoids (Orisakeye & Ale, 2014)

Cultivation

Hot semi-arid; drought-tolerant; sensitive to waterlogging/frost.

Vhembe district (Limpopo), Kruger National Park lowveld

Commercial & Trade Notes

Wild harvest only; no plantation cultivation.

Indigenous Knowledge

Sacred 'Tree of Life' to Venda, Tsonga, and Sotho peoples. Used as food security, shelter, and living pharmacy. Essential role in oral history and ritual gathering.

Health