The demise of the largest and oldest African baobabs
- 11 June 2018
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Nature in Nature Plants
- Vol. 4 (7) , 423-426
Abstract
The African baobab is the biggest and longest-living angiosperm tree. By using radiocarbon dating we identified the stable architectures that enable baobabs to reach large sizes and great ages. We report that 9 of the 13 oldest and 5 of the 6 largest individuals have died, or at least their oldest parts/stems have collapsed and died, over the past 12 years; the cause of the mortalities is still unclear.Keywords
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