One huge Baobab trees (Adansonia digitatal), (‘Peruku Maram’ in Tamil and ‘Ali gas’ in Sinhalese) is found in Neduntievu (Delft Island) and one more is found in Pallimunai, Mannar. These two are the oldest, largest and huge Baobab trees found in Sri Lanka.
This tree, amazingly found on the island of Delft stands isolated in its splendor. A Note attached to this tree indicates that the tree has been brought by seafaring Arab Traders to Sri Lanka, around 700 AD, in order to feed camels. Baobab trees — whose leaves were used to feed these animals. Monkeys love the fruit of this tree and hence this tree sometimes called as the Monkey-bread tree.
Baobab trees are the longest-lived species on earth. These trees, also known as ‘Upside-down trees’ are so named because their sparse foliage and meagre crowns give the trees the appearance of bearing roots instead of branches. Baobab trees are tall (up to 30m) and have enormous, swollen trunks, in which they store water during the dry season. Each trunk can store up to 120,000 liters of water.
The oldest and the largest individual Baobab tree in Sri Lanka is found at Pallimunai and is reported to be over 700 years old.
Images below how Baobab tree and few prominant places of Delft Island of Jaffna.
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