Baobab tree line: Madagascar’s natural monument with dozens of “mother of the forest” trees

As its name suggests, Baobab Street is a road lined with towering baobab trees in Madagascar. These trees are the remnants of the tropical forests that once spread throughout the island, and are now designated as natural monuments by the Madagascan government.

Baobab Street is made up of the endangered Grandidier baobab (Adansonia grandidieri), one of Madagascar’s six endemic baobab species. The Grandidier baobab’s trunk typically grows to about 80 feet (24 meters) tall and 10 feet (3 meters) wide, but the largest specimen ever recorded was a gigantic 98 feet (30 meters) tall and 36 feet (11 meters) in diameter, according to the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences.

The reason Grandidier baobabs have such large trunks is to store water. However, even if you drill a hole in a baobab, water will not come out. Rather, the tree stores water within its cells to grow new leaves and maintain its structure, according to the Baobab Foundation.

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Baobab Street is a dirt road between Morondava and Belo Chiribihina, two towns near Madagascar’s west coast. A short stretch of the road is lined with about 20 to 25 Grandidier baobabs, but a further 25 trees of the same species grow scattered in rice fields and meadows a short distance away, and the surrounding landscape is filled with hundreds of baobabs.

A 2024 study found that baobabs evolved in Madagascar between 41 million and 21 million years ago. Most of the existing baobab species remain in Madagascar, but two species, A. digitalata and A. gregorii, live on the African continent and Australia, respectively. It’s unclear how the baobabs got there, but researchers say the fruit may have crossed the ocean on ocean currents or been transported by humans.

In Madagascar, baobabs are called “renara” or “reniala,” which means “mother of the forest.” The name points to evidence that suggests that the baobabs from which Baobab Street is named have only recently become isolated trees. Thousands of years ago, they stood in a dense tropical forest.

Currently, Madagascar’s baobabs are at risk of extinction due to illegal logging, fires, and climate change. Nevertheless, the tree plays a central role in Malagasy culture, appearing in local legends such as “Baobab Amorou” or “Beloved Baobab”. The two intertwined trees are said to represent a pair of young lovers whose fates are divided, forced to marry others.

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