London – The baobab tree, known as the “Tree of Life”, originated in Madagascar, where it divided into other species, some of which reached the continent of Africa and Australia, according to a study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.
From a single species native to this country, the eight species known today were generated, according to the report conducted by the Botanical Gardens in Wuhan, in China, and Kew, in the United Kingdom, in cooperation with the University of Antananarivo, in Madagascar. and Queen Mary University of London.
Researchers from these centers concluded that from a proto-species, which was present in Madagascar, the process of speciation began, generating different forms of baobab, which later spread to other African countries and Australia.
These different floral structures have been developed to attract different animals, from sphinx moths to bats and lemurs, which cooperate in pollinating the tree.
Other factors, such as climate and sea level changes in their habitats, have also influenced their evolution.
In this regard, scientists pointed out that the tree tends to disperse more when sea levels are lower, and therefore sea level rise in the context of global warming could affect the current baobab population.
According to Dr. Elijah Leach, a researcher at Kew Botanic Gardens, this study allowed us to find new information about the species patterns in the baobab plant, in addition to showing the extent to which it is affected by climate change.
According to the authors of the research, this discovery could provide keys to reducing the impact of global warming on species and, in this way, help preserve different species of the tree.
In this context, the researchers suggested that some baobab species, whose populations have declined by at least 90%, are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
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