[bey-oh-bab, bah-oh-, bou-bab] 
| any large tree belonging to the genus Adansonia, of the bombax family, esp. A. digitata, which is native to tropical Africa, has an exceedingly thick trunk, and bears a gourdlike fruit. |
| ba·o·bab (bā'ō-bāb', bä'-) n. Any of several trees of the genus Adansonia of Africa, Madagascar, and Australia, especially the tropical African species A. digitata having a broad swollen trunk that stores water, palmately compound leaves, and edible gourdlike hanging fruits. [Possibly from North African Arabic būḥibab, fruit of many seeds, from Arabic 'abū ḥibāb, source of seeds : 'ab, father, source; see  b in Semitic roots + ḥibāb, pl. of ḥabb, seed.] |
