Barbados Attractions: "Baobab Trees"

It was said that the baobab tree (Adansonia digitata) was brought to Barbados around 1738 from Guinea in Africa. It is also known as the "Monkey-bread tree".

Two magnificent trees with possibly the widest tree-trunks to be found in the Caribbean, grow in Barbados! The largest can be seen in our Queen's Park in Bridgetown. To give an example of the size of this tree of great distinction, it takes 15 adults joining with outstretched arms to cover its circumference.

In July 1997, on a wildlife programme on BBC2, it was said, that there have been seven different types of Boabab trees discovered growing in Madagascar.

These two Baobab trees hold a well deserved place in the Barbados Tourism Encyclopedia's "Seven Wonders of Barbados"!

The other grand specimen can be found on the Warren's Road in St.Michael, where the inscription on the wooden plaque reads:

Boabab Tree (Adansonia digitata)
One of the two mature trees in Barbados. This remarkable
tree of girth 44.5 ft (13.6m) is believed to have
been brought from Guinea, Africa around 1738
making it over 250 years old. Its jug-shaped
trunk is ideally suited for storing water,
an ideal adaption in the dry savannah
regions of its native Africa.

Another larger Baobab tree of girth 51.5 ft (18.5m)
is located in Queen's Park, Bridgetown.

The Barbados National Trust

Sign donated as a community service by Paul Foster Travel

Be sure to visit these magnificent trees on your Caribbean vacation to Barbados!