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Abstract
With seven species in Madagascar and one in Australia, the tropical genus Adansonia is a small, well-defined group of Old World trees of which the giant African baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) is one of the most prominent members. The African baobab was probably introduced to the Caribbean in the early eighteenth century, and although it is now widespread in the region, it remains a rare tree wherever it grows. Barbados is no exception. This paper discusses all the baobabs identified in Barbados through published accounts, interviews and islandwide searches, and it documents, to the extent possible, their history and cultural importance.