planting baobab seeds Crucian Baobab
SKU: 4791021971
planting baobab seeds

planting baobab seeds Crucian Baobab

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Description

planting baobab seeds Crucian BaobabAdansonia digitata Origin: St. Croix, US Virgin Islands Improvement status: Wild Seeds per packet: 6 BOTANICAL SAMPLE NOT GERMINATION TESTED Life cycle: Perennial It's no exaggeration to say that humanity was born in the shade of a baobab tree. No doubt our ancestors enjoyed the bounty of the iconic baobab long before we humans even evolved. In the hot sun of the African savannah, the singularly wide trunk of the baobab offers the best shade around,

Adansonia digitata

Origin: St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

Improvement status: Wild

Seeds per packet: 6

BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED

Life cycle: Perennial

It's no exaggeration to say that humanity was born in the shade of a baobab tree. No doubt our ancestors enjoyed the bounty of the iconic baobab long before we humans even evolved. In the hot sun of the African savannah, the singularly wide trunk of the baobab offers the best shade around, the large fruits and edible leaves offer important nutrition and medicine too, while the very presence of a baobab tree is an indication of groundwater in the area (the trees can retain thousands of gallons of water themselves, which people can tap in a pinch). Baobab trees are the stuff of legend, laden with cultural meaning and power. And the existence of the tree that produced these special seeds provides living proof of their importance.

These seeds come from one of a handful of African baobab trees that can be found growing on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, an ocean away from their native land. There's little doubt these trees were born from seeds smuggled to the island by enslaved people tortuously brought there to work the sugarcane fields from the 1600s to the 1800s. Oral tradition tells us that people braided various seeds into their hair, and in so doing introduced important African crops like okra, watermelons, and black-eyed peas to the Americas. Baobabs found in St. Croix a dry, savannah-like habitat where they have been able to thrive for some 250 years or more.

One particularly impressive tree (not the source of these seeds) is called the Grove Place Baobab, in St. Croix's second-largest city, Frederiksted. Local tradition holds that it was planted by an African prince thanks to the advice of a wise man back in Africa. Chip Engelhard of the News of St. Croix recounts the story: "The wise man told the prince, 'every night when you sleep, put a baobab seed in your mouth.' Not long after, the prince was kidnapped and sold into slavery. He kept the seed with him through all the trials and hardships of the MIddle Passage before landing on St. Croix. When he arrived, to spend the rest of his life on St. Croix, he planted that seed and tended it carefully until it grew tall and strong. And that his how the baobab came to St. Croix." The Grove Place Baobab has long been an important symbol for Crucian people. It's said that twelve women, followers of the rebel leader Queen Mary Thomas, were burned alive beneath the tree in the aftermath of 1878's Fireburn labor rights. In the 20th century, labor leader D. Hamilton Jackson gave speeches defending workers' rights in the shade of the tree. Locals say people have taken shelter inside the tree's hollow trunk, and one woman is said to have given birth inside the tree. Located at 194 Grove Place, visitors to St. Croix can still meet this amazing being themselves.

Also called "monkey bread tree" (or, more colorfully, "dead rat tree", after the appearance of the hanging fruit), baobabs are perhaps the largest member of the Malvaceae or mallow family, which also includes okra, hibiscus, kenaf, and marshmallow. It's unlikely to survive year-round outdoors in most of the continental US, with the exceptions of south Florida, south Texas, and California, but it can be grown in a container and brought outside during the frost-free months. Baobabs drop their leaves and go dormant in the winter. EFN co-founder Nate Kleinman kept one alive in a pot for 5 years, after his old friend Eliot Ballard gave him a few seeds. That tree had a prominent place in the "Philadelphia Assembled" exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2017 (see photo), as a symbol of resistance and fortitude. These seeds were collected on St. Croix by Nate and Eliot in the spring of 2023.

In support of their inspiring work organizing small farmers in St. Croix, EFN will donate 50% of the proceeds of these seeds to Yvette and Dale Brown of Sejah Farms in St. Croix. Here is an article explaining some of their great work.

NOTE: The last two photos here show baobab trees in Africa, the first in Mali (showing Dogon people gathered beneath the tree), the second an enormous tree in Zimbabwe. The other photos all show the tree in St. Croix, its fruit, or a seedling from it (in the Philadelphia Assembled exhibition at the Museum of Art).

GROWING TIPS: Baobab seeds require no special treatment, but might benefit from being soaked for a day before planting. In our experience, seeds germinate irregularly, some as soon as a few weeks after planting, and some after a few months. Water intermittently.

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SKU: 4791021971

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Talagand
Massapequa, US
★★★★★ 4
Reasonably adequate room divider
Size: 4 Panel-88'', Color: Beige
I'm reviewing this as I assemble it. Couple things: 1. I didn't expect as much assembly. I've ordered dividers before and they more-or-less came as one unit. Sometimes the panels needed screwing together. These require complete assembly and come largely as three rods: two make up vertical columns and snap together. Another one (called part "C") makes the horizontal columns and you have two of these per panel (one attaches to part "A" and the other part "B"). These parts are metal with a plastic shim. Using the wood screws to attach to part "C" is a real pain in the neck. There's not much holding the panel in place so it's a little tricky. One tactic I've found while I'm assembling that works for the initial connections from parts A and B to their respective "C" rods is to hold the screw in place with a screw driver and then rotating the rod around the screw. This will do a number on your hands if you aren't wearing gloves. This obviously doesn't work when completing the connection. Using a driller driver on this is really near impossible because there isn't anything you can use to secure it in place. You can use it on the first panel, but as it gets longer, it becomes increasingly difficult and because it isn't wood, it's really tight. I considered drilling larger pilot holes but since there are only 4x4=16 screws I need to screw in, I just decided to use my screw driver to complete it. 2. Also related to assembly. When completing the panels (attaching parts "A" and "B" to parts "C" that have the cloth cover on it), you have to be careful that when you tighten that side that it isn't loosening the other side. Because the pilot holes are so tight, you can end up rotating the rod, which rotates it in the same direction as looser on the original side. Having someone hold the "C" rod in place while you screw it in is probably the easiest approach. I didn't have a 2nd person, so I just had to keep flipping back and forth and tightening both sides as I screwed it in. Not the worlds biggest deal, but annoying nonetheless. 3. The way the instructions are written, they seem to suggest building this thing progressively; that is, you do panel 1, then 2, connect them together, then do 3 and connect it, etc. I took a different route that I suspect saved me quite a bit of trouble, and I assembled all four panels first and THEN connected everything together. 4. For the love of God make sure you check that the plastic tip is on the same side for every panel. Otherwise, you have to take one side apart again and reverse it. On the bright side, if this happens, you've essentially bored out the pilot holes to be the correct size... which is having me question if I shouldn't have just bored them out to the appropriate width in the first place. 5. Attaching all of the panels together is also an enormous pain in the ass unless you happen to have an 88" long elevated surface. Attaching the legs either requires you to elevate one side, which will invariably twist the inexplicably cheap material in the bottom connectors... or you can attach them sideways... or you can put this thing upright, having two people hold the panels in place while you use the allen wrench to tighten the bolts on the underside. None of those are particularly great options. NOW on to the utility itself. 1. The panels do let some light through (I didn't believe their advertising, and that was one of the reasons that I bought beige, is that I wanted it to not be too dark). They aren't transparent though, so it isn't that far off from their description. They functionally work great, and keep the mess of wires hidden and when I'm sitting at my desk, actually reflect quite a bit of light into my office. Great! 2. My wife has described these as "the most hideous piece of furniture ever conceived of by man." So it does not have spouse approval factor. Granted, she will seldom be in my office area, so that isn't the end of the world. 3. These are really hard to align in a way that doesn't look a little tacky. There are some plastic connectors but they don't do a bang up job of keeping these in place. Each panel is slightly tilted and it's... quite obvious. I may at some point make my own improvements to these to help make them more level. It's not a particularly expensive product so I wasn't expecting much so it's fine and I'm not going to ding them on the rating because of it. All said, would I buy this product again? Probably not. It's assembly was ~90 minutes which is about 75 minutes longer than I was anticipating spending on this (not including the 5 minute writeup that I'm doing here). But am I going to return it? Also no, if for no other reason I'd be just as annoyed taking it apart and putting it in the original box to return it.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2023
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Verified Purchase
Val
New York, US
★★★★★ 5
True to Description
Color: Black, Size: 4 Panel
Love it!! I bought it for privacy while the nurse is dressing my dad. There were several colors black matched the decor . It blocked the sunlight and street lights. Durability and quality very good. Easy closure when not in use. Lightweight. No assembly needed
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Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2026
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Verified Purchase
Clockworks
New York, US
★★★★★ 5
Nice room divider!
Color: White, Size: 8 Panel
The white panels are a nice off-white color. shipped in perfect condition. Already assembled so set up was quick. We use them to separate a photo studio from the main entry. Easily covers a 6 Ft. opening to the room. They are a woven material with wood colored sticks to support the weave. They are about 6 Ft. tall at the top of the curved section but less at the hinged sections. Light and easy to set up and take down. We are straddling two different floors so the extended legs at the bottom make this easy. Not sure how to clean them but they look great so far!
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Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2025
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Verified Purchase
Rockermom
New York, US
★★★★★ 5
Instant Privacy
Color: Beige, Size: 8 Panel
Bought this to separate a ground level living area used as an office. Works well to cover visual clutter; allows a clean look when entering the front door. Comes fully assembled. Hinges are sturdy enough, as long as the panels aren’t stretched too far; have to allow some bend between them. For the price point, quality and functionality are satisfactory.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2025
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Verified Purchase
KennyDu
Dallas, US
★★★★★ 4
Great Divider, Just Needed Anchoring for Outdoor Use
Color: Grey, Size: 6 Panel
This room divider is very nice—stylish, lightweight, and easy to set up. I’m using it outdoors, which may not be its intended use, and I found that wind can knock it over pretty easily. Once I anchored it down, though, it worked just fine and looks great in the space. Indoors, I imagine it would be perfect right out of the box. Overall, a solid purchase with just one small adjustment needed for my setup.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2025

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