Baobab trees may be a proxy for measuring long-term use of land by humans. They live long, have economic benefits, and are ...

Baobabs are also the longest-lived African trees; in 2011, a baobab that died in Zimbabwe at the age of 2,450 made it the oldest of all flowering plants to be documented on the African continent.

The sun sets behind a baobab tree, known as the tree of life, in Mudzi, Zimbabwe, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Credit: AP/Aaron Ufumeli. By The Associated PressUpdated September 18, 2024.

A packet of a kilogram of baobab powder sells for around 27 euros in Germany. In the United Kingdom, a 100-milliliter bottle of baobab beauty oil can fetch 25 pounds (about $33).

Baobab trees get their nickname from the huge variety of uses for their bark and fruit, from medicine to food to paper, and their own ability to live for centuries — as long as 3,000 years!

Baobabs are also the longest-lived African trees; in 2011, a baobab that died in Zimbabwe at the age of 2,450 made it the oldest of all flowering plants to be documented on the African continent.