The baobab is possibly the most distinctive metal money of tree on Earth , and the longest - living member of the flowering plants . Yet tree that have survived for 2,000 year have suddenly started exit all at once . We ca n’t yet be trusted of the cause , but it ’s almost certainly human - induced , and clime change is the premier suspect .
baobab ' unparalleled physical body makes them an iconic symbolic representation of Africa . Although far fromthe tallestof the flowering plant – the group that let in all flowering plants – their enormous trunks make them the largest . Baobabs can contain 500 cubic meter ( 17,000 cubic substructure ) of forest . The enormous fundamental spaces that often form inside their proboscis have been used as homes , jails , and drinking venue .
An international team of botanists go down out to study Africa ’s largest and former baobabs find more than 60 salient instance . They collect and try the wood extensively , including its inner cavities , and used throttle people spectrum analysis for atomic number 6 dating , revealing the trees ' growth history . This technique divulge the outgrowth of multi - cauline trees in a way that studying tree ringing – appropriate for tree with a single bow – can not . The squad did indeed learn some interesting matter about the fashion these mighty trees mature , which they have reported inNature Plants .
However , the same paper reveals something far more unexpected and disturbing – five of the six orotund trees recorded , and nine of the 13 oldest , have either died over the last 12 years or suffer the collapse of their old stems . Given the immense geezerhood of these trees , so many fail at once ca n’t be a coincidence , but the author include they are not yet certain of the reason .
All the sure-enough trees were from southern Africa , but spread out over thousands of kilometers , so the cause can not be local . Moreover , there are far-flung reports of other older baobabs dying , and no signs of a fungous or insect epidemic , making climate change the most probable culprit .
When it comes to the thing the research originally intended to discover , the author found baobabs normally start growing as single - cauline Tree . However , the paper observes ; “ Owing to the monkey-bread tree ’ power to periodically produce new stalk , in much the same way other tree specie grow branch , ” all large monkey-bread tree are multi - cauline , developing increasingly complex architecture as they mature .
The authors divulge baobabs expend what they call a “ ring - shaped construction ” to achieve their mighty sizes . This is obvious when they are badly blend at the base with shapes resembling a cylinder . Frequently , however , the stems have fused so well that only carbon dating can reveal that they are freestanding stems of different ages . Sometimes the tree ’s centre hollows out from flaming and fungal approach , but more often the cardinal space was never fill , with stems instead having sprung up around it .
