The boab tree (Adansonia gregorii) is an iconic bottle-shaped tree indigenous to the Kimberley region and the north western Northern Territory. Boab trees can live up to 2500 years and the largest recorded trunk is 5 metres wide. The boab belongs to the unique African genus Adansonia, commonly called baobab. There are eight species of baobab in the world. Seven are found on Madagascar, mainland Africa and the Arab Peninsula. Only one species is found on Aboriginal Land.
The story of how the Continent’s species of boab arrived is a matter of debate, due to its remoteness from the seven African species. Originally, it was thought that it came to the Continent from Africa by oceanic drift 120 million years ago. However, the seed pod could not have survived in sea water long enough to make the journey.
Recent DNA research has found the Adansonia gregorii boab species arrived on the Continent 72,000 years ago. It is believed it was one of the first human introduced species. Early migration of people travelling from Africa to the Continent probably brought the boab ‘nut’ seed pod as a food crop due to its multitude of uses.
All parts of the boab tree are edible. The young seedling has a large yam-like root that can be eaten raw and has a texture and flavour of a watery radish; the soft baby leaves can be eaten as salad greens and are high in iron; the white slightly sour chalky foam in the boab ‘nut’ can be eaten raw or mixed with water to make a custard. The ‘nuts’ are high in carbohydrates, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron. When water is scarce, the bark can be removed and water can be sucked out of the soft fibrous wood. String can be made from the fibres in the root. Parts of the tree are used as medicine. Old hollow trees can provide shelter from the weather. The large boab nuts can be used as water vessels and can be carved with artworks.
Boab trees were used by early British colonial police as prison trees. The most well known prison boab tree was the ‘Hill Grove Lockup’ in Wyndham in the east Kimberley. Aboriginal people were chained to the boab trees at night, during transportation to prison in European colonial settlements in Wyndham, Halls Creek, Derby and Broome. Many Indigenous people were convicted and incarcerated for their resistance action against British colonisers.
Many of the Indigenous prisoners were sold as slaves to cattle stations as farm labourers and to the pearling industry as pearl divers.
REFERENCES
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-07/boabs-come-africa-baobabs-evolution/10060946
https://theconversation.com/iconic-boab-trees-trace-journeys-of-ancient-aboriginal-people-39565
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0119758
https://www.westernaustralia.com/en/Attraction/Boab_Prison_Tree/56b26774aeeeaaf773cfa415