Africa’s wooden elephant: the baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) in Sudan and Kenya: a review

Jens Gebauer; Yahia O. Adam; Aida Cuni Sanchez; Dietrich Darr; Muneer E S Eltahir; Kamal E M Fadl; Gabriele Fernsebner; Michael Frei; Tsige Yohannes Habte; Karl Hammer; Mauricio Hunsche; Henry Johnson; Maha Kordofani; Michael Krawinkel; Florian Kugler; Eike Luedeling; Tarig E. Mahmoud; Anthony Maina; Dagmar Mithöfer; Chimuleke R Y Munthali; Georg Noga; Rabea North; Willis O. Owino; Kathleen Prinz; Freda K. Rimberia; Amina Saied; Martin Schüring; Anne Sennhenn; Martin A. Späth; Mohamed E N Taha; Andreas Triebel; Florian Wichern; Martin Wiehle; Nicole Wrage-Mönnig; Katja  Kehlenbeck

doi:10.1007/s10722-015-0360-1

Africa’s wooden elephant: the baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) in Sudan and Kenya: a review

Jens Gebauer^*, Yahia O. Adam, Aida Cuni Sanchez, Dietrich Darr, Muneer E S Eltahir, Kamal E M Fadl, Gabriele Fernsebner, Michael Frei, Tsige Yohannes Habte, Karl Hammer, Mauricio Hunsche, Henry Johnson, Maha Kordofani, Michael Krawinkel, Florian Kugler, Eike Luedeling, Tarig E. Mahmoud, Anthony Maina, Dagmar Mithöfer, Chimuleke R Y MunthaliGeorg Noga, Rabea North, Willis O. Owino, Kathleen Prinz, Freda K. Rimberia, Amina Saied, Martin Schüring, Anne Sennhenn, Martin A. Späth, Mohamed E N Taha, Andreas Triebel, Florian Wichern, Martin Wiehle, Nicole Wrage-Mönnig, Katja Kehlenbeck

^*Corresponding author for this work

29 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Wild edible fruits hold great potential for improving human diets, especially in agricultural societies of the developing world. In Africa, a well-known supplier of such fruits is the baobab (Adansonia digitata L., Malvaceae), one of the most remarkable trees of the world. Several studies in different African countries have highlighted this indigenous fruit tree as a priority species for domestication and expanded use. However, internationally available information on baobab in East Africa, particularly in Sudan and Kenya, remains scarce. This review aims to shed light on the ecology, diversity and current level of utilization of baobab in East Africa in order to facilitate domestication and conservation of the species. A list of priority research areas is provided at the end of the review to encourage further studies and investment in this unique plant taxon.

Original language	English
Journal	Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution
Volume	63
Issue number	3
Pages (from-to)	377-399
Number of pages	23
ISSN	0925-9864
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-015-0360-1
Publication status	Published - 2016

Keywords

Adansonia digitata
Agroforestry
Ethnobotany
Fruit
Indigenous fruit tree (IFT)
Nutrition
Sub-Sahara
Up-side down tree

Access to Document

10.1007/s10722-015-0360-1

Cite this

Gebauer, J., Adam, Y. O., Cuni Sanchez, A., Darr, D., Eltahir, M. E. S., Fadl, K. E. M., Fernsebner, G., Frei, M., Habte, T. Y., Hammer, K., Hunsche, M., Johnson, H., Kordofani, M., Krawinkel, M., Kugler, F., Luedeling, E., Mahmoud, T. E., Maina, A., Mithöfer, D., ... Kehlenbeck, K. (2016). Africa’s wooden elephant: the baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) in Sudan and Kenya: a review. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 63(3), 377-399. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-015-0360-1

Gebauer, J, Adam, YO, Cuni Sanchez, A, Darr, D, Eltahir, MES, Fadl, KEM, Fernsebner, G, Frei, M, Habte, TY, Hammer, K, Hunsche, M, Johnson, H, Kordofani, M, Krawinkel, M, Kugler, F, Luedeling, E, Mahmoud, TE, Maina, A, Mithöfer, D, Munthali, CRY, Noga, G, North, R, Owino, WO, Prinz, K, Rimberia, FK, Saied, A, Schüring, M, Sennhenn, A, Späth, MA, Taha, MEN, Triebel, A, Wichern, F, Wiehle, M, Wrage-Mönnig, N & Kehlenbeck, K 2016, 'Africa’s wooden elephant: the baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) in Sudan and Kenya: a review', Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, vol. 63, no. 3, pp. 377-399. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-015-0360-1

@article{a9bbedaddf5143b4be784bd7f7600b2b,

title = "Africa{\textquoteright}s wooden elephant: the baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) in Sudan and Kenya: a review",

abstract = "Wild edible fruits hold great potential for improving human diets, especially in agricultural societies of the developing world. In Africa, a well-known supplier of such fruits is the baobab (Adansonia digitata L., Malvaceae), one of the most remarkable trees of the world. Several studies in different African countries have highlighted this indigenous fruit tree as a priority species for domestication and expanded use. However, internationally available information on baobab in East Africa, particularly in Sudan and Kenya, remains scarce. This review aims to shed light on the ecology, diversity and current level of utilization of baobab in East Africa in order to facilitate domestication and conservation of the species. A list of priority research areas is provided at the end of the review to encourage further studies and investment in this unique plant taxon.",

keywords = "Adansonia digitata, Agroforestry, Ethnobotany, Fruit, Indigenous fruit tree (IFT), Nutrition, Sub-Sahara, Up-side down tree",

author = "Jens Gebauer and Adam, {Yahia O.} and {Cuni Sanchez}, Aida and Dietrich Darr and Eltahir, {Muneer E S} and Fadl, {Kamal E M} and Gabriele Fernsebner and Michael Frei and Habte, {Tsige Yohannes} and Karl Hammer and Mauricio Hunsche and Henry Johnson and Maha Kordofani and Michael Krawinkel and Florian Kugler and Eike Luedeling and Mahmoud, {Tarig E.} and Anthony Maina and Dagmar Mith{\"o}fer and Munthali, {Chimuleke R Y} and Georg Noga and Rabea North and Owino, {Willis O.} and Kathleen Prinz and Rimberia, {Freda K.} and Amina Saied and Martin Sch{\"u}ring and Anne Sennhenn and Sp{\"a}th, {Martin A.} and Taha, {Mohamed E N} and Andreas Triebel and Florian Wichern and Martin Wiehle and Nicole Wrage-M{\"o}nnig and Katja Kehlenbeck",

year = "2016",

doi = "10.1007/s10722-015-0360-1",

language = "English",

volume = "63",

pages = "377--399",

journal = "Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution",

issn = "0925-9864",

publisher = "Springer",

number = "3",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Africa’s wooden elephant

T2 - the baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) in Sudan and Kenya: a review

AU - Gebauer, Jens

AU - Adam, Yahia O.

AU - Cuni Sanchez, Aida

AU - Darr, Dietrich

AU - Eltahir, Muneer E S

AU - Fadl, Kamal E M

AU - Fernsebner, Gabriele

AU - Frei, Michael

AU - Habte, Tsige Yohannes

AU - Hammer, Karl

AU - Hunsche, Mauricio

AU - Johnson, Henry

AU - Kordofani, Maha

AU - Krawinkel, Michael

AU - Kugler, Florian

AU - Luedeling, Eike

AU - Mahmoud, Tarig E.

AU - Maina, Anthony

AU - Mithöfer, Dagmar

AU - Munthali, Chimuleke R Y

AU - Noga, Georg

AU - North, Rabea

AU - Owino, Willis O.

AU - Prinz, Kathleen

AU - Rimberia, Freda K.

AU - Saied, Amina

AU - Schüring, Martin

AU - Sennhenn, Anne

AU - Späth, Martin A.

AU - Taha, Mohamed E N

AU - Triebel, Andreas

AU - Wichern, Florian

AU - Wiehle, Martin

AU - Wrage-Mönnig, Nicole

AU - Kehlenbeck, Katja

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

N2 - Wild edible fruits hold great potential for improving human diets, especially in agricultural societies of the developing world. In Africa, a well-known supplier of such fruits is the baobab (Adansonia digitata L., Malvaceae), one of the most remarkable trees of the world. Several studies in different African countries have highlighted this indigenous fruit tree as a priority species for domestication and expanded use. However, internationally available information on baobab in East Africa, particularly in Sudan and Kenya, remains scarce. This review aims to shed light on the ecology, diversity and current level of utilization of baobab in East Africa in order to facilitate domestication and conservation of the species. A list of priority research areas is provided at the end of the review to encourage further studies and investment in this unique plant taxon.

AB - Wild edible fruits hold great potential for improving human diets, especially in agricultural societies of the developing world. In Africa, a well-known supplier of such fruits is the baobab (Adansonia digitata L., Malvaceae), one of the most remarkable trees of the world. Several studies in different African countries have highlighted this indigenous fruit tree as a priority species for domestication and expanded use. However, internationally available information on baobab in East Africa, particularly in Sudan and Kenya, remains scarce. This review aims to shed light on the ecology, diversity and current level of utilization of baobab in East Africa in order to facilitate domestication and conservation of the species. A list of priority research areas is provided at the end of the review to encourage further studies and investment in this unique plant taxon.

KW - Adansonia digitata

KW - Agroforestry

KW - Ethnobotany

KW - Fruit

KW - Indigenous fruit tree (IFT)

KW - Nutrition

KW - Sub-Sahara

KW - Up-side down tree

U2 - 10.1007/s10722-015-0360-1

DO - 10.1007/s10722-015-0360-1

M3 - Review

AN - SCOPUS:84959935555

SN - 0925-9864

VL - 63

SP - 377

EP - 399

JO - Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution

JF - Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution

IS - 3

ER -

Africa’s wooden elephant: the baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) in Sudan and Kenya: a review

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this