The Boab: Australia’s Link to an Ancient World

This week’s #FloraAndFaunaFriday post explores a survivor from deep time.

Whenever I’m in the Kimberley, one of the things that always captivates me is the magnificent boab trees. Their swollen trunks, gnarled branches and incredible longevity make them unlike almost any other tree on Earth. And when I was serving as an Australian Ambassador in West Africa, I was surprised to find also their close cousins growing across places like northern Ghana. Half a world apart, yet instantly familiar.

Australia’s boab (Adansonia gregorii) is the only baobab species found outside Africa and Madagascar. Together, they tell the story of an ancient world. Their ancestors evolved when the southern continents were connected as Gondwana Land - before Australia, Antarctica, Africa and South America slowly drifted apart over tens of millions of years.

The boab is more than just an evolutionary curiosity. It connects us to deep time. For thousands of years it has been an important cultural and ecological species. Aboriginal peoples use its fruit, seeds, leaves and fibrous bark for food, medicine, rope and other practical purposes. Its huge hollow trunks provide shelter, and its flowers and fruit support birds, bats, insects and other wildlife.

Standing beneath a Boab in Africa or the Kimberley, it’s hard not to feel connected to deep time and Gondwana Land. These remarkable trees have witnessed thousands of years of human history and carry within them echoes of a world that existed long before Australia became an island continent.

Sometimes a single tree can remind us that Nature has a longer memory than we do.

One of many Boab trees I stopped to take a photo of when travelling with my family in the Kimberley back in 2017.