There are eight species of baobab in the world, and they have a surprising distribution. Six are found in Madagascar, an island in the Indian Ocean; one is found on the continent of Africa; and the last is far away in Australia.
The origin of this group of plants has fascinated people for a long time. I joined a global team of plant genetics and genomics researchers led by Tao Wan and Qing Feng Wang of the Wuhan Botanical Gardens in China and Ilia Leitch of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London to sequence, assemble and study the genomes of all eight baobab species.
Baobabs are a remarkable keystone species, capable of supporting a wide diversity of animals for food and shelter. They can reach huge dimensions (depending on the species) in both height and diameter. The largest species can tower above the understorey vegetation. When you encounter a big African baobab on its own, it really is like “Home Tree” in the movie Avatar, not only because of its size, but also because it supports such a huge variety of life.
