The baobab tree in Mannar is believed to be brought to Sri Lanka by Arabian Traders around 1477 making it over 500 years old. The circumference of the tree is is 19.5 meters and its 7.5 meters tall. The baobab tree is typically an African species that grows majestically in the savannas. It does not belong to Sri Lanka's bio diversity. The baobab is one of the longest-lived trees in the world. The Read more...   ...Collapse French Botanist Adanson contended that some specimens of the baobab were as much as 5,000 years old. In Senegal (West Africa), it is reputed to live to an age of 5,000 years. A tree with circumference of 30 m could be more than 4,000 years old. Alexander von Humbolt called the baobab, “the oldest organic monument of our planet”. It is truly a wonder of nature. In Sri Lanka, the baobab has also been recorded from Jaffna in the past, and another from Puttalam in 1848 which was destroyed a few years later. At one time, there were at least 60 trees in Mannar and Jaffna. Today the baobab is one of the protected trees in Sri Lanka because of its rarity. The introduction of the baobab to Sri Lanka and India from Africa still remains a mystery. The hypothesis that it was the work of the Portuguese is untenable given the ages of the trees as indicated by their prodigious girths. The Portuguese first appeared in Sri Lanka some 500 years ago, but some of the baobabs in Mannar are more than 500 years old. All evidence points to the Arab traders who predated the Portuguese as the source of the baobab. These early mariners who brought the coffee-tree to Arabia, and the cinnamon to Malabar (India) must have introduced the baobab to Sri Lanka in the distant past. Its presence points to a remote occupation of the area by Arab traders from the Red Sea, who came probably attracted by the pearl and shank fisheries. Today the baobab occurs in significant number only in the island of Mannar, where it is a conspicuous member of the flora. The size of baobab on the basis of girth at breast height (GBH) ranges from 1.9 m to 19.4 m, with an average of 9.5 m. Unlike in Africa, where baobab trees are known to reach heights between 18-25 m, almost all the trees in Mannar are less than 9 m (30 ft) tall. The most abundant size class is 5-9.9 m which accounts for more than 50% of the trees.    ...Collapse

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