The "Upside Down Tree"

Its real name is the "Baobab Tree."
Many folk tales are spun around this peculiar tree, of which there are nine species.
The most intricate tale is the one about its creation.:
God had decided to make a really beautiful tree and spared no effort to achieve this goal.
When he was finished he asked the tree if he was happy with the way he looked.
The tree saw his reflection in a still pond and said: I would really like to be a little taller. So God made the tree taller. Then the tree suggested that he should now also have a larger circumference.
So God made him bigger around. The tree then complained that its leaves should be a shade greener and its fruit should taste better.
Finally God got so angry with this ungrateful creation that he tore the tree from the ground, turned it upside down and jammed it back into the earth on which it had stood.
Since then, when the dry season is in full swing and the tree has shed its leaves it truly looks as if its roots were reaching heavenward.
The Natives therefore call it: The Upside Down Tree.
Some other interesting bits of knowledge, which are as true as the story of its creation are:
If you eat its blooms, you become mighty and strong and you can defeat Lions in a fight.
Other tales predict that if you eat a bloom, you will be killed by a lion.
More tales are told about this tree than about any other.

The Baobab, or "Upside-down tree" with its root system seemingly pointing to the sky.

During especially dry periods, elephants in search for nourishment will strip its bark 

and finally chew its moisture bearing wood.

The white blooms of the baobab open at night only.

Here is a baobab at late sunset.

When any other tree is stripped of its bark all around the stem, the tree will die of thirst.

The Baobab, however, is capable of sucking moisture throughout its trunk, and simply grows another layer of bark.

When, however, the damage inflicted, mostly by elephants, is too serious,

the tree can no longer support its own weight, is incapable of sucking sufficient moisture

and finally, rotting from the inside out, breaks down into a fibrous mass.

Some of the largest baobabs have been carbon dated

 and an age of 3000 + years has been established.

Too much is too much and finally 

the tree breaks down into its fibrous consistency and disappears.

My good friend and travel companion, John, 

admires and feels a sense of sorrow

that this giant lost his struggle for existence.