Monday, 9 November 2026

Boab Tree

Boab trees grow in Northern Australia mainly in the Kimberley Region usually having a bottled shaped trunk.

Notes taken from Wikipedia.
Adansonia gregorri, commonly known as the boab, is a tree in the family Malvaceae.  As with other baobabs, it is easily recognised by the swollen base of it's trunk, which forms a massive caudes, giving the tree a bottle like appearance.  Endemic to Australia, boab occur in the Kimberley region of Western Australia (WA), and east into the Northern Territory (NT).  It is the only baobab to occur in Australia, the others being native to Madagascar (six species) and mainland Africa and the Arabian Peninsula (two species). Boab ranges from 5 to 15 meters in height, usually between 9 and 12 meters, with a broad bottle shaped trunk.  It's trunk base may be extremely large, trunks with a diameter of over five metres have been recorded.  A. gregorii is deciduous, losing it's leaves during the dry winter period and producing new leaves and large white flowers between December and May.

The Boab Prison Tree, Derby WA, is a large hollow Adansonia gregorii (Boab) tree just shouth of Derby, WA.  It's reputed to have been used in the 1890's as a lockup for indigenous Australian prisoners on their way to Derby for sentencing.  It is now a tourist attraction.

In fact, there is no evidence that the Derby Prison Tree was ever used for holding prisoners.


I took this boab tree at Kununurra, Western Australia. 
This boab tree looks healthy due to the grass being watered in the park regularly plus it has leaves not like the last photo.


Below.
I took this Boab tree somewhere in the Kimberley.  I have it pictured in my head where but can't recall the name.
These boab trees are a decent shape but some of them are a bit weird.



Kununurra is marked by those red marks.

90 comments:

  1. The tree is very nice, Margaret. The last photo of it looks absolutely magical.
    Take care.

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    1. It is a very different tree and the last photo, that tree is rather a nice specimen of it, Marit.

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  2. Hello Margaret,
    The baobab tree looks truly magnificent, I find the last photo in particular to have a certain mysterious quality.
    Wishing you a wonderful week.
    All the best, Irma

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    1. Thank you Irma. It's an interesting tree and all are different like all trees.

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  3. What an imposing and interesting tree.
    Warm greetings

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    1. It's different Maria and I had never heard of one till I travelled up northern Australia.

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  4. Dear Margaret, thank you for this explanation about this tree—it has such a remarkably thick trunk and a unique appearance; great, interesting photos! hugs Elke

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    1. You are welcome, Elkes, it's such a different type of tree as we know trees.

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  5. wow...don't think I have ever seen one before. Looks great!

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    1. Not a common tree Angie, and I had never seen one till we travelled way up in northern Australia.

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  6. Eine sehr ungewöhnliche Form für einen Baum. Sehr exotisch.

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  7. Es muy lindo. Te mando un beso y te deseo una buena semana

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  8. They sure are weird looking trees - kids would have some fun trying to climb them.
    Rip roaring storm at Terrigal yesterday evening but thankfully no damage and moved
    rapidly to east to the land of the HAKA.
    I wonder when the kids of all school ages actually attend classes - they sure have plenty of life saving classes at the beach here.
    Nice and getting warmer morning here so will do a Cooks Tour and see how far advanced the renovations at the Pub are. I miss the discourse on all subjects with my mates at the Pub! Agreements are a rare novelty - ha ha!
    Cheers
    Colin

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    1. Very different tree to the normal ones, Colin.
      Shame about your weather. At times the school children seem to have a lot of time off but it's important in Australia that children know how to swim and safe a life at the beach.
      Nothing like a good debate at the pub, keeps all on their toes.

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  9. This is fascinating, Margaret! Beautiful photos and great information on this amazing tree!

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  10. Krásný a zajímavý příspěvek! U nás ve střední Evropě známe stromy baobaby, v každé učebnici zeměpisu je uvedeno, že se vyskytují také v Austrálii! Na vlastní oči jsem tento strom neviděla, takže děkuji za fotografie a za informace. Velké bílé květy musí být zajímavé a krásné.
    Zdravím do Tasmanie a přeji pěkný nový týden!

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    1. Interesting you know of boab trees. I've never seen the flowers in person only online and they look ok.
      Thank you.

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  11. They are both great specimens. There is a very large one in Kings Park, Perth as I remember.

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    1. Oh is there, I've been to Perth but not wandered about.

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  12. I like boab trees, they're the stuff imaginations can turn into fairy stories. Great photos.

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    1. The mind can run wild with fairy things and the boa tree R. Could do a story on it.

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  13. Goodness, what an amazing tree.
    Many thanks for the lovely photographs, map and information.

    Wishing you a good week ahead.

    All the best Jan

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  14. Ohhh this is beyond amazing!!!! As I have written before, you make me fall in love with Australia with your posts. Thank you.

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  15. This tree should be planted in states where there is plenty of water or in parks where the gardeners water the lawns.

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  16. Me encanta tus fotografías y especialmente la fotografía número 3, en el que sus brazos desnudos se alzan queriendo alcanzar el mismo cielo.
    Saludos.

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  17. Replies
    1. Interesting tree as they are very different from others grown in Australia.

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  18. oh my goodness dear Margaret this tree looks really amazing and very interesting !
    very intriguing shape ,trunk and branches wow ,fascinating !
    your country never stop to mesmerise me with it's unique and special fauna and flora
    thank you for sharing ,it was so nice to see this weird looking tree ,and very nice shots !

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  19. What an unusual tree!! Incredible!
    hugs
    Donna

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  20. Uvijek posebno lijepo pozdrav iz Croatie...LP

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  21. ¡Me fascina la silueta tan peculiar que tienen los baobabs! Qué gran acierto contrastar el árbol sano del parque con los más salvajes que viste en la ruta. ¡Muchas gracias por compartir estas joyas de Australia Occidental!

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    1. There are many boab trees that are not in a park and watered, they are all different shapes but always a big middle. 😉

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  22. Wow! I’ve never seen a tree wth a trunk like that before.

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  23. Hello Margaret,
    Great pictures of these special trees. Boab trees are very nice and very special.
    Nice to read about these trees. In the ZOO of Rotterdam they have made a Boab tree, but it is not real.

    Many greetings,
    Marco

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    1. Oh really, they made one, that would help make the animals that come from Africa feel at home 😉

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  24. Australia is filled with critters and plants that amaze the rest of us-- The Boabs are a classical example!

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    1. It's very different and many Australians haven't seen one in person, Bill.

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  25. The boab is such a remarkable feature of the Kimberley landscape, with its enormous bottle-shaped trunk and fascinating longevity

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  26. What a magnificent tree, my dear... Sending you a Tuesday hug. Andreja!

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  27. What magnificent trees. Those trunks are stunning - very distinctive

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    1. They are and never missed as they are different to the normal trees.

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  28. Replies
    1. They are amazing Jo-Anne, and a lot of stories around about them too.

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  29. I have never seen a tree like that. Thanks for familiarizing me with it

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    1. Many have not seen that tree, it's an interesting one and you are welcome.

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  30. I didn't know a kind of baobab exists in Australia. The leaves seem cute.

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    1. Oh yes, it does as also in Africa and a few other places.

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  31. Everyone is talking about the baobab tree, mainly because of its fruit—though I hadn’t realized it has such a remarkably thick trunk! I read that it acts as a water reservoir, allowing the tree to survive in the dry savanna.
    Thanks for your fantastic photos.
    Best wishes, Viola

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    1. Yes you are correct Viola. Many of them if not most of them are shaped like a bottle. Many Indigenous people make a carving around the fruit pod.

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  32. What an extraordinary marvel of nature. Thank you for sharing it Margaret.

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    1. It's a very different tree, but a beauty when seeing it in person.

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  33. Wow...I'd certainly love to see one in person someday if I ever get the chance. Very educational content, thank you

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    1. You are welcome. Much history attached to the tree.
      Take care.

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  34. Impresionante las imagenes que nos brindas de ese tremendo tronco.
    Un saludo,amiga

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  35. Thank you very much for your visit; the verses are tender and full of love. Best regards, and I wish you all the best.

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    1. Thank you for coming and explaining, much appreciated.. I thought the verses must be of love by the way it was sung.

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  36. That is so interesting. It's such a unique tree.

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  37. ¡Excelente artículo! Sigan con el buen trabajo, ¡esperamos más artículos!

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  38. Those massive bottle-shaped trunks are such an iconic sight, and it's wild how different they look depending on whether they're holding onto their leaves or dropping them for the dry season. Seeing your photos from Kununurra makes me want to travel out to the Kimberley region just to spot one in person.

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    1. Good to see a comment from you Melody as I was wondering if you were alright.
      It's a big area the Kimberley region and the boab is good to see in person, it always rewards.

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  39. Such an unusual looking tree. It almost looks like it belongs in a fairy tale. The last photo is my favourite. Thanks for sharing these wonderful boab trees.

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    1. You are welcome, Veronica. Yes they do look like something to do with fairies.

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  40. Wow che spettacolo l' albero di baobab.
    Ha un tronco enorme

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  41. That tree is superb! Nature never ceases to amaze me! <3

    http://www.couture-case.com/

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  42. G'day mate. I am here again my friend, and as far as I am concerned that trees can be found as introduced or cultivated trees, rather than being a widespread native Indonesian tree. Happy Thursday mate

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    1. The boab is not a native of Indonesia as you say. They grow there as you would know.
      Take care and thanks.

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  43. What a peaceful and fascinating spot! It’s amazing to think that such a quiet place along the Tamar River was once a bustling shipbuilding hub where a massive vessel like the Harpley was built.

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    1. Lovely and peaceful there and to live as there are houses opposite.
      There once was a wooden jetty at Blackwall also but it's gone too and life moved on.

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