In today’s interconnected world, various animals and plants have proliferated to nearly every corner of the globe, blurring the line between what is native and not. As it turns out, though, this statement holds true long before the trans-Atlantic voyages of European explorers took place. Take, for instance, the lone baobab in the Barbadian capital. With its origins tracing back to the African continent, this tree, standing for a millennium or so, has sparked curiosity and wonder among its beholders for centuries now.
By: Omri Westmark
Date: 16:07 17.08.24
Last Update: 13:46 18.08.24
Tucked away in the outskirts of Bridgetown, Queen’s Park serves the city’s largest green lung, and, as its name suggests, is also a historic site with deep colonial roots. Originally the residence of the British military commander in the West Indies, it later became a public park in 1909. Queen’s Park House, built in 1786 and rebuilt after the great hurricane of 1780, now hosts the Daphne Joseph Hackett Theatre and Queen’s Park Gallery.
Despite the park’s ample collection of endemic plants, all are far-eclipsed by a sole, mysterious baobab tree, one of only two across the island. Standing at 90 feet (28 meters) with a girth of 81 feet (25 meters), this baobab is the largest and oldest tree anywhere in Barbados, believed to be over a thousand years old. To appreciate its sheer size, it would take a whopping 15 adults, standing shoulder to shoulder with arms fully outstretched, just to encircle the vast trunk of this behemoth.
The tree is not native to Barbados but hails from the territory of modern-day Guinea in West Africa. Story has it that the seed journeyed across the Atlantic Ocean, eventually taking root by a lagoon, which is now a park and playing field. Barbados’ second baobab tree, featuring a girth of 44.5 feet (13.6 meters), is located in Warrens, St. Michael.
photography by: Omri Westmark
