Baby Baobab, Kirindy Reserve, Madagascar
According to our guide, by estimation this baobab is 80 years old. Hard to judge from the photo, but it's narrow enough for me to wrap my hands around it. I forgot to ask which species of Baobab this is, so the ID is tentative. There's 3 species of Baobab found in Kirindy and this one seems most likely based on the bark not being smooth.
My understanding is that Baobabs cannot be dated based on rings or diameter alone, so any estimation not done based on carbon dating may be inaccurate. The bigger point stands though: they grow extremely slowly and can take centuries to mature.
''Adansonia rubrostipa'', commonly known as Fony Baobab is one of the eight species within the baobab genus, within the family Malvaceae. This tree is endemic to western Madagascar and occurs in the Madagascar dry deciduous forests.
