Adansonian.
/adənˈsəʊnɪə/, U.S. /ˌædənˈsoʊniə/ 1. A tree of the genus Adansonia (family Malvaceae) comprising the baobab trees of Africa (particularly Madagascar) and Australia; esp. the African species A. digitata of west and central Africa, and the Australian baobab, A. gregorii. Also: the genus itself.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > yielding fibre, thatching, or basket material > [noun] > trees or shrubs yielding fibre, etc. > baobab tree
baobab1640
Adansonia1763
monkey bread1849
bottle tree1880
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fruit-tree or -plant > [noun] > tropical or exotic fruit-tree or -plant > of Australia
kangaroo-apple1834
poroporo1840
gouty-stem1846
nonda1847
gunyang1867
Adansonia1988
1763 P. Miller Abridgem. of Gardeners Dict. (ed. 5) Adansonia, the sour Gourd, or Monkies Bread. This tree was first described by Prosper Alpinus, in his book of Egyptian plants... Mr. Adanson, who was four years in that country [sc. Senegal],..measured the stems of several of these trees.
1816 H. Salt Voy. to Abyssinia 49 We observed several trees of a curious species, called Malum-pava, (a species of Adansonia,) which seems to expend its powers of vegetation in the trunk.
1852 T. Ross tr. A. von Humboldt Personal Narr. Trav. Amer. I. ii. 62 The Adansonia or baobab of Senegal, one of the oldest inhabitants of our globe.
1866 A. A. Black in J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. 17 The Adansonia has, until lately, been considered the largest tree in the world, but it must now give place to the mammoth tree of California (Wellingtonia gigantea).
1903 W. C. Stevens Introd. Bot. vi. 133 An Adansonia in the Cape Verde Islands and a Taxodium in Mexico appear to have lived for 6000 years.
1988 New Scientist 15 Sept. 55/1 Adansonias grow only in Africa, Madagascar and the northwest corner of Australia.
2007 R. Watson Afr. Baobab 14 The northwest corner of Australia is home to the most intriguing member of Adansonia—at least in terms of how it got where it is.
2. Chiefly Papermaking. The inner bark (bast) of the baobab tree Adansonia digitata, used as fibre for making packing paper. Now rare.
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society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > bark > [noun] > other bark
basteOE
bass1676
bonace bark1756
paperbarkc1837
stringy-bark1848
pottery bark1866
Adansonia1887
1887 C. F. Cross et al. Rep. Indian Fibres & Fibrous Substances 18 To this belong (of dicotyledonous origin) such bast tissues as Adansonia, Linden, Sterculia.
1903 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 18 Sept. 837/1 Adansonia, the bast of the monkey bread tree..of West Africa, is used for manifold purposes by the natives.
1913 Paper 26 Feb. 184/2 Until the Adansonia was tried, no paper could be made to fulfil this requirement.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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