Baobab Tree

                                               This tree is found in the Delft East, about 2 km, South-West of Jetty. The baobab tree is an introduced species, it is being protected in Sri Lanka given its rarity and antiquity. It is believed that this tree has been brought to Sri Lanka by Arabian Traders. There are over 40 Baobab trees are surviving in Sri Lanka, two species are found in Jaffna District, one among them, is found in Delft and other one is found in Pungudutivu. A unique feature is this tree is that there is a hole where three fully grown adults can go in It is evaluated that most of Baobab trees are to be 300-400 years old. It is native to Africa, Madagascar, and Australia. This tree in Sri Lanka is called as Elephant tree because its shape is like a trunk and generally referred as bottle tree and monkey bread tree.It is called in Tamil as “Perukka Maram”.