BAOBAB  , Adansonia digitata(natural

order Bombaceae) ,anative of tropical Africa, one of the largest trees known, its stem reaching 30 ft. in diameter, though the height is not great . It has a large woody fruit, containing a mucilaginous pulp, with a pleasant cool taste, in which the seeds are buried . The bark yields a strong fibre which is made into ropes and woven into cloth . The wood is very light and soft, and the trunks of living trees are often excavated to form houses . The name of the genus was given by Linnaeus in honour of Michel Adanson, a celebrated French botanist and traveller .