General Informations
Adansonia gregorii, commonly known as the boab, is a tree in the family Malvaceae. As with other baobabs, it is easily recognised by the swollen base of its trunk, which forms a massive caudex, giving the tree a bottle-like appearance. Endemic to Australia, boab occurs in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, and east into the Northern Territory. It is the only baobab to occur in Australia, the others being native to Madagascar (six species) and mainland Africa and the Arabian Peninsula (two species). Boab ranges from 5 to 15 metres in height, usually between 9 and 12 metres, with a broad bottle-shaped trunk. Its trunk base may be extremely large; trunks with a diameter of over five metres have been recorded. A. gregorii is deciduous, losing its leaves during the dry winter period and producing new leaves and large white flowers between December and May.
The common name “boab” is a shortened form of the generic common name “baobab”. Although boab is the most widely recognised common name, Adansonia gregorii has a number of other common names, including:
Australian baobab
baob
bottle tree
