The tree is not particularly tall growing up to 20 metres tall but the trunk is massive: as much as 10 metres in diameter and shaped like a bottle. The trunk is in fact used to store water during dry periods.

It's not uncommon for old trees to have several huge trunks branching off near the ground, and a tree 20 metres tall can have a spread of more than 30 metres.

The palmately compound leaves are clustered at the ends of short, stocky branches. Baobab is a deciduous tree, losing its leaves in the dry season.

At the end of the dry season, the Baobab blooms with large white flowers that hang down on long stalks. The flowers are 10-12cm across and have waxy crinkled petals about 10cm long that surround dense clusters of purple stamens that look like powder puffs. The flowers open only at night and are pollinated by bats feeding on the nectar.

The pendant fruits are velvet covered, grey and gourdlike, about 30cm long, and apparently look like dead rats hanging from the tree by their tails.

Prefers to be grown in full sun. Baobab is very drought tolerant, and needs no water at all during the winter. Despite its adaptations to dry climates, baobab will thrive in rainy climates provided it has a well drained soil. Baobab will tolerate a little frost during its dormant season.