SKU: 4791021971
planting baobab seeds

planting baobab seeds Crucian Baobab

Sale price$23.02 Regular price$25.58
Save 10%

Shipping Estimate
USA
  • USA
  • CAN

Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Jul 11 - Jul 16

Promo Codes Available:

For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15

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.

Shipping Notes
  • Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
  • Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
  • Delivery to the USA:
  1. Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
  • If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
  • We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
  • To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
  • Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
SKU: 4791021971

Discover Niche Categories That Outsell planting baobab seeds

Top-Converting Item to Boost Your Average Order

4.7 ★★★★★
Based on 2432 reviews
Sort
Highest Rating
Newest First
Oldest First
Product Reviews
A
Verified Purchase
Ashley Morgan
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 5
ABSOLUTELY A MUST for Omegaverse Girls!!!
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Jillian West and her books!!! I’m so happy I already bought book two and now I have to buy the others for the Assurance Security series!! Not gonna lie Val kind of annoyed me at the beginning but she grew on me!! Her men are chef’s kisses!!! Holt annoys me some but I can let it slide. I already bought part two so I’m going to be reading that in between work phone calls!!!! DON’T TELL MY BOSS 😂😂😂😂
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2025
C
Verified Purchase
Carmen Alicea
Charlottesville, US
★★★★★ 4
Baby bumps and bodyguards
Format: Kindle
Dark, emotional, and unexpectedly tender, Not Ready is an omegaverse romance that delivers found family feels, fierce protectiveness, and a very pregnant heroine who refuses to break. Vale’s on the run from a stalker, but lands in the arms of three private security alphas, cue the swoony tension, fake marriage twist, and slow-burn heat. It’s a little gritty, a little soft, and a whole lot addictive. If you love protective alphas, high stakes, and heroines with quiet strength, this one’s a must-read.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2025
S
Verified Purchase
Shianne Whipple
Alexandria, US
★★★★★ 5
Strong Omegaverse Comfort and a Attention Grabbing Plot
Format: Kindle
Jillian West never misses when it comes to Omegaverse, and Not Ready is no exception. This story was the perfect blend of cozy comfort and emotional depth while still delivering a strong plot. Vale is such a powerful heroine, she is strong, capable, and determined but I love that she still allows her pack to love and take care of her. It’s that balance of independence and vulnerability that makes her so relatable. The relationship dynamics were amazing: Bishop is steadfast and completely head over heels, Mercy is skeptical but protective in his own way, and Holt is the hesitant one whose slow fall is so satisfying to watch unfold. The romance hits that sweet spot between insta-love and cautious build, keeping me hooked the entire way through. And that ending. Oh my god, the cliffhanger! I need the next book in this duet immediately.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2025
N
Verified Purchase
NLB
Cuba, US
★★★★★ 5
Interesting
Format: Kindle
So I will say I enjoyed the story, for sure had its moments where it dragged but it was a great story. I really liked that omegas picked their alphas/make the pack. Normally the Alphas make it and the omega fits in with them which is great but I enjoyed this new version where all the power basically went to the omega. It was a nice change of pace. I can admit some of the weird bedroom stuff with her being pregnant was odd, it’s really not hard to do stuff when pregnant (I know I’ve had two and it’s normal and even encouraged at the end especially if you want the baby out). But I like the story as a whole and will read the second, I do hope the next one isn’t dragged bc it stopped being action or tense after she met her alphas and I don’t think it was brought up or properly done when they tried to do it. More sweet after she left.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2024
A
Verified Purchase
Altairjones
Natrona Heights, US
★★★★★ 3
I’m a little disappointed.
Format: Kindle
I usually like Jillian West’s books but this one was missing a lot for me. The pregnancy didn’t come across as real. She’s on her feet for 12 hour days but is perfectly healthy at 8 months pregnant? Yet the week she moves in all of a sudden she’s not? She is planning on actually running during one of the plot buildups. But at 8 months pregnant that’s incredibly hard to do. The lack of breathing ability and lung space, the change in body center, mass, and gravity. All of it prohibits running, unless you’re an athlete this didn’t come off as at all realistic. I didn’t feel any connection with the alphas. There wasn’t any emotional connection. It could be because of the tense it was written in. But I didn’t get any deep feelings out of this. It came across as checking off boxes. Even the spicy scenes weren’t really believable for me. I wanted to see them fall for her, and it just kind of all fizzled. Even Bishop. One thing I did really like was the ending. I did not see it coming and I’m interested in reading book two because of it. But on the whole this book was mostly disappointing for me.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2024

recommand products