Have you ever seen a tree grow bread? Not only did it survive for 5,000 years, but it also saved many African people, but where did it come from?
If our country can also introduce such a strange tree into the country, wouldn't it be another staple food? However, it turned out that their idea was wrong! What happened when baobabs were introduced to China? Why has it changed so much?
An ancient tropical plant.
This is a group of "giants" that stand in the middle of the rainforest. The Egyptians described this strange tree several times in their writings 1,300 years ago, and when its fruit was ripe, a large group of gluttonous monkeys would climb up and pick its fruit, hence its name.
Baobab is a special tree, very large, with a thick trunk, more than 20 meters high and 15 meters in diameter, and it takes more than a dozen people to hug it. Because of the large and large jars that grow, the locals call them "bottle trees".
It is said that these trees, against the will of their creator, took root in a rainforest, and the angry creator uprooted them and planted them in Africa, the tower we see today.
Zhuangzi mentions in his "Wandering Journey" the "big chun", a tree that can live for more than 8,000 years, like the monkey bread tree, with a strong vitality, even in the harshest arid regions, it can survive for more than 5,000 years.
Baobab is native to the tropical rainforests of Africa, the Mediterranean, Atlantic, Australia, and Madagascar is the only remaining baobab tree in the world.
Is there any real bread on it?
The fruit on the baobab tree, each fifteen to twenty centimeters tall, is shaped like an oval melon, but from any point of view, it is a very common fruit, far inferior to human flour and flour.
When the fruit is ripe, the pulp is dried and tastes like bread. In addition, it is also rich in amino acids, gums, calcium and other nutrients, of which the vitamin C content is equivalent to six times that of citrus, which can supplement the energy needed by humans and other organisms.
During several famines in Africa, it was unexpectedly discovered that the monkey bread tree grew something similar to bread that could give people a feeling of fullness. These foods are absolutely natural and uncontaminated for those who are not picky eaters of grass roots and tree bark!
This "breadfruit" has a slightly sour taste and can be picked and eaten as is, but it can also be made into a variety of different foods, such as drinks and condiments. Through the development of science and technology, it can also refine high-grade oils and skin care products.
The "trees of life" are not only because they have a long lifespan, but also because their characteristics are perfectly in line with the daily life of human beings, and they are full of creativity and vitality.
It is a very loose wood, like a sponge, that absorbs moisture. In some specific cases, this wood can be stored as the root of a baobab tree, storing up to thousands of kilograms of moisture.
When the rain comes, the baobab tree absorbs a lot of water and stores it in its trunk. When people are thirsty in the hot grass, they can dig a hole in the tree to drink, which will allow many people who are tormented by the heat and dryness to survive.
The branches of the baobab tree occasionally produce palm-sized leaves, which have been shown to be rich in calcium, which can be used to make soups or medicines, and can be used to cure diseases.
Whether it is used to make ropes, or to make guqin, or to make paper, there is a natural beauty.
There are even people who use it as their "locker", which can not only preserve food, but also "pass it on to three generations". Since the branches of the baobab tree are very thick, there is a lot of space inside when hollowed out, allowing people to sleep in it or hide from the rain.
Can monkey peel fruit be grown in our country?
Baobab is a hardy tree that can withstand temperatures of 40 to 0 and a wide range of soil qualities, making them theoretically a very suitable species for planting, but is now only grown in small quantities in Fujian, Guangdong and Yunnan.
Baobab trees are mainly cultivated in China by cuttings, sowing and grafting, and there was an early idea of promoting high value-added crops, but many problems soon appeared. These trees either grow very slowly, or they die in large patches, and if they do, they are much smaller than those native to Africa.
It was found that although the baobab tree is very cold-tolerant, it is difficult to withstand the cold because it is tropical and prefers a warm environment. The optimal cultivation temperature requirement for baobab is 20-30, and this requirement can only be achieved on the southern coast south of the Tropic of Cancer in China.
Even if you can grow seeds, you need to have an insulated greenhouse to prevent the water stored in the trunk from freezing due to changes in the weather. This requires setting a suitable temperature, and the growth of fruit trees can also be monitored in real time through an intelligent management system.
In addition, baobab trees have high requirements for soil moisture and acidity, and have extremely high requirements for the on-the-spot response and professionalism of growers. In addition, according to the relevant regulations of our country, baobab is a foreign plant, which must be approved and quarantined by the relevant authorities before entering the country for cultivation.
Therefore, although baobab trees can be grown in our country, they are not suitable for cultivation. Due to temperature, humidity, soil acidity and other reasons, as well as some scientific and technological reasons, the growth of these tree species is not ideal, and the cultivation cost is much higher than that of Baobab trees in Africa, and few people in China have planted them here.
In short, the baobab tree has edible value, historical value, economic value and research value, which has led to the development of local agriculture, manufacturing, handicrafts and other aspects, and has become an important industry for the local people, but not all places are suitable for planting.
An ancient tree, under such harsh conditions, shows a harmony of vitality and nature, and people can't help but sigh what a wonderful planet it is. But in order for all life to survive normally, it is necessary to follow their nature, and I only hope that our country can develop a method that can be cultivated on a large scale. Thank you for reading this article.