Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
overfishing, pollution, climate change and sediments from soil erosion have greatly im-
pacted its health.
Madagascar's waters teem with sharks, which, depending on your point of view, is either
great (conservationists, fishermen, some divers) or scary (swimmers, surfers, the other
divers). Risks of attacks are particularly high on the east coast, less so in areas where
fringing corals protect the shores.
ICONIC TREES
The photogenic Allée des Baobabs in western Madagascar has done much for
the popularity of this giant tree. Madagascar is home to seven of the world's
eight baobab species, of which six are native and endemic (the seventh species
is that found on mainland Africa; the eighth in Australia).
The trees stand out for their size (up to 30m high), huge trunks (one of the
largest in the country is in Majunga, with a circumference of 21m), old age
(many are thought to be several centuries old) and signature scraggly branches,
in full view over the winter months, when baobabs have lost their foliage. The
trees store water in their trunks and are therefore well adapted to dry environ-
ments.
Another of Madagascar's iconic plants - it is, technically, not a tree - is the
ravinala
, or travellers' palm, named so after the large quantities of watery sap it
can store at the base of its leaves and which could be drunk.
Ravinala
, which is
native to the island, has many uses in Madagascar: the leaves are dried and used
for building roofs in traditional houses. Bundles of dried leaves are sold by the
roadside everywhere in northern and eastern Madagascar. Done well, a
ravinala
roof can last 10 years. The tough stems are often used to make beautiful ceiling
or wall panels. The wood from the trunk is also used for various building pur-
poses.
Perhaps as a nod to its durability, Air Madagascar chose the
ranivala
tree as
its emblem.
Flora
Madagascar's plants are no less interesting than its animals and its flora is incredibly di-
verse. About 6000 species are known to science, including the bizarre octopus trees, sever-
al species of baobab and a pretty flower that is used to treat leukaemia.
The island's vegetation can be divided into three parallel north-south zones, each sup-
porting unique communities of plants and animals: the hot, arid west consists of dry spiny
desert or deciduous forest; the central plateau (
hautsplateaux
) has now been mostly defor-
