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A Historically Contextualized Account of the Baobab Trees (Adansonia digitata L.) of Tobago

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Abstract

A Historically Contextualized Account of the Baobab Trees (Adansonia digitata L.) of Tobago. A common explanation for the baobab’s (Adansonia digitata) global dispersal is its value as a landscape feature: a tree of “parks and gardens” in places such as Florida and Hawaii, grown for its aesthetic value as a curiosity and ornamental, and for its practical value as a shade tree. While this is no doubt true, it is not the whole story. The history and culture of the baobabs of Brazil and the Caribbean cannot be understood solely within the narrow framework of merely a landscape feature. Based on a field survey done in May 2011 that was informed by a literature review, newspaper articles, interviews, and a radio appeal for information, this study was able to document the distribution of 12 African baobab trees in Tobago, and to identify the cultural status of the species as a fruit tree of Tobago’s traditional home garden food forest. In Tobago, the baobab is called Guinea tamarind, a name that alludes to the fact that the fruits of the baobab and tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) are strikingly similar in taste. The results of this study also shed light on the links between the name Guinea tamarind and spread of the baobab in the Eastern Caribbean, including the timing of origin of the species in Tobago.

Un compte rendu historique des Baobabs ( Adansonia digitata L.) du Tobago. Une explication ordinaire de l’actuelle dispersion globale du Baobab est sa valeur dans l’agencement de jardins. En bref, un arbre de “parcs et jardins” dans des lieux tels que la Floride et Hawaï, élevé pour sa valeur esthétique comme objet de curiosité et ornemental, et pour sa valeur en tant qu’ arbre ombrageux. Bien que cela soit tout à fait vrai, ce n’en est pas la seule raison. L’histoire et la culture des baobabs du Brésil et des Caraïbes ne peut pas être comprise seulement dans le contexte étroit d’arbre de pépiniériste. Basée sur une étude faite sur le terrain en mai 2011 inspirée par une critique litéraire, articles de journaux, interviews, et une demande radiophonique de renseignements, cette étude a pu documenter la distribution de douze Baobabs au Tobago, et d’identifier le statut culturel des espèces comme principalement des arbres fruitiers traditionnels de la permaculture. Au Tobago, on appelle le baobab le tamarind de Guinée, nom qui fait allusion au fait que les fruits du baobab et du tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) sont de goûts remarquablement similaires. Le résultat de cette étude clarifie aussi les liens entre le tamarind de Guinée et la propagation des baobabs dans les Caraïbes orientales, y compris la chronologie de l’origine des espèces au Tobago.

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Acknowledgements

I thank the College of Charleston for the Faculty Research and Development Grant that made this research possible. A special thanks to the Cruickshank family for their hospitality and research assistance, and to Dimsoy Cruickshank in particular; her island expertise was essential to the success of this survey. A special thanks also to the forester Daren Henry not only for his generous assistance, which was essential to the success of this project, but also for introducing me to the landscape of Tobago, and an enlightening tour the Main Ridge Forest Reserve of Tobago. The kind of research pursued in this book would not be possible without the help of a great many people. With this in mind, I thank the people of Tobago for their cheerful support in answering questions about their baobab trees. The broad view of the baobabs of the Americas this paper has presented would not have been possible without research done in Brazil. Consequently, a special thanks also to Dr. Anthony Fisher who made my first visit to Brazil possible, and to Drs. Anthony and Elaine Fisher who welcomed me when I arrived, and contributed to the success of my work in Brazil. I am also indebted to Dr. Ubiratan Castro de Araujo (sadly, now deceased) who was the Director of the Center for Afro–Asian Studies of the Federal University of Bahia, and to his immediate successor, Dr. Jocélio Teles dos Santos, and to my colleagues Dr. Claudia Regina Barreto, Fernando Batista, and Hernandes Santos Souza.

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    John Rashford

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Submitted 17 May 2021; Accepted 27 December 2021.

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Rashford, J. A Historically Contextualized Account of the Baobab Trees (Adansonia digitata L.) of Tobago. Econ Bot 76, 127–157 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-022-09547-6

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