Sunland Baobab (also Platland Baobab, Mooketsi Baobab, Tree Bar, Big Baobab or Pub Tree) is a well-known enormous baobab (''

Adansonia digitata ''Adansonia digitata'', the African baobab, is the most widespread tree species of the genus ''Adansonia'', the baobabs, and is native to the African continent and the southern Arabian Peninsula (Yemen, Oman). These are long-lived pachycauls; rad ...

'') in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The tree is located on Sunland Farm (Platland Farm), near

Modjadjiskloof Modjadjiskloof (formerly Duiwelskloof) is a small town situated at the foot of the escarpment in the Limpopo province of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost count ...

(previously known as Duiwelskloof),

Limpopo Province Limpopo () is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers ...

. In one study the tree was

carbon-dated Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was de ...

and found to be an estimated 1,060 years old, plus or minus 75 years. Results of other studies have however suggested much higher ages. The tree used to bloom profusely in spring, at some stage providing a refuge to two pairs of owls, and other bird species. Most of the tree died in 2016 and 2017.

Structure

Before starting to collapse, it was 22 metres high and 47 metres in circumference. The trunk diameter was 10.64 metres (the

Glencoe Baobab Glencoe Baobab is the stoutest and second largest baobab (''Adansonia digitata'' L.) after the Sagole Baobab in South Africa. It is possibly the stoutest tree in the world. The Champion Tree is located in Glencoe Farm, near Hoedspruit, Limpop ...

up to its 2009 split was larger, and the

Árbol del Tule El Árbol del Tule ( Spanish for The Tree of Tule) is a tree located in the church grounds in the town center of Santa María del Tule in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, approximately east of the city of Oaxaca on the road to Mitla. It is a Mo ...

is also larger with a diameter of 14.05 m), and the crown diameter was 30.2 metres. The trunk consists of two connected sections, each with its own enormous hollow, and these are connected by a narrow passage. One third of the baobab tree collapsed in August 2016. This was ascribed to age and the natural hollowing of the trunk with time. The property owners intend to leave the fallen trunk section as it fell, allowing natural processes to reshape and assimilate the feature.

History

When the internal hollows were cleared of

compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by Decomposition, decomposing plant and food waste, recycling organic materials, and man ...

in 1993, evidence of

Bushmen The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are the members of any of the indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures of southern Africa, and the Indigenous peoples of Africa, oldest surviving cultures of the region. They are thought to have diverged fro ...

and

Voortrekker The Great Trek (, ) was a northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyond the Cape's British colonial adminis ...

visitors was found. Carbon investigations inside the hollows testified to fires in 1650 AD, 1750–1780, 1900, 1955 and 1990.

Tourist attraction

The Sunland Big Baobab became a popular tourist attraction after 1993 when the owners of Sunland farm established a bar and wine cellar in its hollow trunk. The hollow centre of the tree was cleared of a substantial compost layer to uncover the floor at about a meter below the present ground level. A door was placed in a squared off natural vent in the trunk, and a railway sleeper pub was constructed inside, complete with draft beer, seats and a music system. 60 people once attended a party inside this tree bar. A wine cellar was installed in the second hollow, which remains at a constant 22 °C temperature thanks to the tree's natural vents. The bar was destroyed in 2017 when the tree split, the second major break in 2 years. According to a study published in 2018, not only the Sunland Baobab, but "the majority of the oldest and largest African baobabs ave diedover the past 12 years".

References

{{Reflist, 33em Individual baobab trees Limpopo Individual trees in South Africa

Structure

History

Tourist attraction

See also

References