SKU: 4791021971
planting baobab seeds

planting baobab seeds Crucian Baobab

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planting baobab seeds Crucian BaobabAdansonia digitata Origin: St. Croix, US Virgin Islands Improvement status: Wild Seeds per packet: 6 BOTANICAL SAMPLE NOT GERMINATION TESTED Life cycle: Perennial It's no exaggeration to say that humanity was born in the shade of a baobab tree. No doubt our ancestors enjoyed the bounty of the iconic baobab long before we humans even evolved. In the hot sun of the African savannah, the singularly wide trunk of the baobab offers the best shade around,

Adansonia digitata

Origin: St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

Improvement status: Wild

Seeds per packet: 6

BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED

Life cycle: Perennial

It's no exaggeration to say that humanity was born in the shade of a baobab tree. No doubt our ancestors enjoyed the bounty of the iconic baobab long before we humans even evolved. In the hot sun of the African savannah, the singularly wide trunk of the baobab offers the best shade around, the large fruits and edible leaves offer important nutrition and medicine too, while the very presence of a baobab tree is an indication of groundwater in the area (the trees can retain thousands of gallons of water themselves, which people can tap in a pinch). Baobab trees are the stuff of legend, laden with cultural meaning and power. And the existence of the tree that produced these special seeds provides living proof of their importance.

These seeds come from one of a handful of African baobab trees that can be found growing on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, an ocean away from their native land. There's little doubt these trees were born from seeds smuggled to the island by enslaved people tortuously brought there to work the sugarcane fields from the 1600s to the 1800s. Oral tradition tells us that people braided various seeds into their hair, and in so doing introduced important African crops like okra, watermelons, and black-eyed peas to the Americas. Baobabs found in St. Croix a dry, savannah-like habitat where they have been able to thrive for some 250 years or more.

One particularly impressive tree (not the source of these seeds) is called the Grove Place Baobab, in St. Croix's second-largest city, Frederiksted. Local tradition holds that it was planted by an African prince thanks to the advice of a wise man back in Africa. Chip Engelhard of the News of St. Croix recounts the story: "The wise man told the prince, 'every night when you sleep, put a baobab seed in your mouth.' Not long after, the prince was kidnapped and sold into slavery. He kept the seed with him through all the trials and hardships of the MIddle Passage before landing on St. Croix. When he arrived, to spend the rest of his life on St. Croix, he planted that seed and tended it carefully until it grew tall and strong. And that his how the baobab came to St. Croix." The Grove Place Baobab has long been an important symbol for Crucian people. It's said that twelve women, followers of the rebel leader Queen Mary Thomas, were burned alive beneath the tree in the aftermath of 1878's Fireburn labor rights. In the 20th century, labor leader D. Hamilton Jackson gave speeches defending workers' rights in the shade of the tree. Locals say people have taken shelter inside the tree's hollow trunk, and one woman is said to have given birth inside the tree. Located at 194 Grove Place, visitors to St. Croix can still meet this amazing being themselves.

Also called "monkey bread tree" (or, more colorfully, "dead rat tree", after the appearance of the hanging fruit), baobabs are perhaps the largest member of the Malvaceae or mallow family, which also includes okra, hibiscus, kenaf, and marshmallow. It's unlikely to survive year-round outdoors in most of the continental US, with the exceptions of south Florida, south Texas, and California, but it can be grown in a container and brought outside during the frost-free months. Baobabs drop their leaves and go dormant in the winter. EFN co-founder Nate Kleinman kept one alive in a pot for 5 years, after his old friend Eliot Ballard gave him a few seeds. That tree had a prominent place in the "Philadelphia Assembled" exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2017 (see photo), as a symbol of resistance and fortitude. These seeds were collected on St. Croix by Nate and Eliot in the spring of 2023.

In support of their inspiring work organizing small farmers in St. Croix, EFN will donate 50% of the proceeds of these seeds to Yvette and Dale Brown of Sejah Farms in St. Croix. Here is an article explaining some of their great work.

NOTE: The last two photos here show baobab trees in Africa, the first in Mali (showing Dogon people gathered beneath the tree), the second an enormous tree in Zimbabwe. The other photos all show the tree in St. Croix, its fruit, or a seedling from it (in the Philadelphia Assembled exhibition at the Museum of Art).

GROWING TIPS: Baobab seeds require no special treatment, but might benefit from being soaked for a day before planting. In our experience, seeds germinate irregularly, some as soon as a few weeks after planting, and some after a few months. Water intermittently.

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SKU: 4791021971

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Diosmary
Lake Worth, US
★★★★★ 5
Hardcover
Format: Paperback
The 5 Love Languages is a timeless relationship book that helps people understand how they naturally give and receive love. The hardcover edition feels elegant, durable, and perfect for keeping on a coffee table or gifting to a spouse, friend, or newlywed couple. The concepts are simple but powerful, making it an easy read with practical advice you can apply immediately in everyday relationships. A meaningful book that many people revisit over the years.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2026
J
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Jenny Fratzke
Alexandria, US
★★★★★ 5
Practical Tips In Building a Stronger Marriage
Format: Audiobook
I purchased my first copy of “The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate” by Gary Chapman in 1992. After spotting him in North Carolina earlier this year, I decided to purchase the audiobook. Not only did I want to listen to Chapman read his book out loud, but I also wanted to digest his work through the lens of older, hopefully wiser, eyes. In a recent Bible study, someone brought up the verse about flattering lips. I thought this was an excellent segue into one of Chapman’s love languages—words of affirmation. Numerous people feel extraordinarily loved when they are appreciated. The other four primary love languages the author discusses are: gifts, physical touch, quality time, and acts of service. I especially appreciated Chapman’s chapters on applying the love languages when only one partner is interested in improving the relationship. He offers practical tips, encouragement, and step-by-step examples on how to gather your partner’s complaints, address their frustrations, and show them love, regardless of your or their love language. One addition I would have appreciated in Chapman’s reference to “Loving the Unlovely” would have been to address a hyper-critical spouse who refuses to offer words of affirmation or positive feedback. Chapman’s technique for improving a marriage relies on the other spouse responding. Regardless, Chapman’s technique has undoubtedly helped hundreds of struggling wives and husbands feel loved and experience a successful marriage. This classic is an excellent Bible Study resource for small groups, Bible studies, and couples. If you enjoyed “The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate,” you may enjoy “For Women Only, Revised and Updated Edition: What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men” by Shaunti Feldhahn and “For Men Only (Revised and Updated Edition): A Straightforward Guide to the Inner Lives of Women” by Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2025
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Creative Reviews
Cuba, US
★★★★★ 5
Materializing the Intangible Force of Love
Format: Paperback, Format: Paperback
Introduction: In “The 5 Love Languages”, Gary Chapman displays his masterful understanding of the single factor necessary to create and maintain a healthy relationship – Love. Through his experience as a counselor, stories from the road and journey as a student, Dr. Chapman has been able to materialize the immaterial force which permeates all marriages and relationships, providing the advice which almost no one can articulate. Dr. Chapman has found the languages of love itself, “Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch.” What You will Gain: After reading this book, you will find yourself rapidly improving your relationship with your spouse, children, and family. I the heard enthusiastic, supporting words, “Our relationship has been different over the past week!” after implementing the wisdom from “The 5 Love Languages.” You will even find yourself watching drama-filled talk shows like “Dr. Phil,” being able to pinpoint each spouse’s love language and how they are not fulfilling it based on their complaints. It is very enjoyable to wield this skill, but also extremely practical. Instead of criticizing your spouse, you can create the environment to facilitate change, and the best part is, both partners do not have to be on the same page! That’s right,” The 5 Love Languages” work without needing both partners to read, so if you didn’t marry a reader, you’re in luck! Conclusion: This was my first dedicated relationship book, and I’m glad it was. “The 5 Love Languages” was not only a quick read, but easy to digest and entertaining. I purchased it for the incredibly low price of $6.86 in new condition (can’t get much better than that, even at a used bookstore). Based on all the things discussed above, I can easily endorse this book and frankly recommend it to everyone! Even if you’re not married, this book covers relationship dynamics you can apply anywhere.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2024
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Jovie Glee
Belleville, US
★★★★★ 5
Excellent advice on how to improve relationships
Format: Kindle
I've read dozens of books on the psychology of relationships, but this is one of the best and most useful I've ever seen. Gary Chapman's unique concept of "The 5 Love Languages" (Affirmations, Quality Time, Acts of Service, Gifts, and Physical Touch) describes how knowing and using the 5 love languages can improve and deepen loving relationships, while misunderstanding them can cause harm. The information in this book is well-organized, easy to read and understand, and includes lots of stories that are not only interesting, but clearly illustrate the author's point. There is also a self-assessment tool at the end, plus links to additional info online. Dr. Chapman's basic concept is that "5 love languages" are commonly used in committed relationships to express love and affection toward one's partner. Chapman explains that loving couples can run into trouble if they don't know and understand their own dominant love language or that of their partner. A relationship can thrive if and when each person understands which specific love language is most important to themselves and also knows and honors their partner's most important way of receiving love, which is often different from their own. All 5 of the love languages are equally useful and valid; none are better or more preferred than any other. They simply reflect how an individual's unique needs, expectations, and personality are expressed by the ways they most want to receive love from their partner. Dr. Chapman devotes a chapter to each of "The 5 Love Languages" using stories from his practice as a licensed Marriage and Family Counselor to show the need for using the correct expressions of love and how using the wrong love language can damage an otherwise good relationship. For example, if a wife's dominant love language is affirmations (including compliments, encouragement, appreciation, and gratitude) but her husband doesn't understand how important these positive words are to her, he might think it's OK to tease her about her looks, accuse her of being lazy, or criticize her cooking. When she needs kind and supportive words but hears insults and put-downs instead, she will feel unloved, no matter what else he does to show he cares. He could surprise her with flowers, hug and kiss her when he comes home, fix the leaky faucet, or offer to take the kids to the park, but still, if he does not give her the words she needs, she will feel unappreciated and unfulfilled. On the other hand, if the husband's dominant love language is spending quality time with his wife, but his wife thinks that taking good care of the house & kids and cooking him a nice meal every night is the best way to show him her love, he will feel resentful and misunderstood. What he needs most is for her to set aside time for listening and sharing with him, for making plans, and spending quality time one-on-one. If she does not understand how important quality time is to him, that will damage their relationship. Having a weekly date night is probably the most important thing this couple could do to improve their marriage. "The 5 Love Languages" is written specifically for married couples, but the advice could easily be applied to ANY relationship, including family and friends. The author has written other books using the 5 languages concept, such as "The 5 Love Languages" for parents - how to express love to their children and teens. Some kids thrive on physical touch when young, but the kind of touch is likely to change when they become teens. Some kids rely on quality time with one or both parents, while others want more time alone but still need to hear lots of affirmations. I wish I had known about "The 5 Love Languages" when my kids were little, but now that they are grown I can still use what I've learned to improve all my relationships. Overall, this book is the real deal, both important and useful. I highly recommend "The 5 Love Languages" to anyone wanting to learn how to improve and express love in their relationships.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2018
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Joey
Louisville, US
★★★★★ 4
One Over Explained Good Idea, Several, (Thankfully) Brief Bad Ideas
Format: Kindle
When I was about 75% of the way through this book, I had intended on giving it 5 stars. It's lost a star and I'll explain why. First I'll start with the meat on this bone. Dr. Gary Chapman makes a brilliant observation: There are multiple and specific ways to express love, Words of Admiration, Acts of Service, Quality time, Physical Touch, and Gift Giving. Followed by the following brilliant observations: How we are raised influences our beliefs about how to express love to others. That we can naturally have an inborn way that we feel expresses our love (regardless of how we were raised). We have an inborn way of how we *want* to be loved. We can fail to recognize that others love us when they don't express it in the way we need, and others can fail to realize we love them if we are expressing love in a way that isn't meaningful to them. Those are the best parts of the books in a nutshell. I have several disagreements with other observations Dr. Chapman makes. One is he tends to harp repeatedly on there being one almost magical form of love expression that will make a person feel loved. I disagree with this, as I think most people will have a spectrum across the five traits, finding perhaps one most meaningful, but they will have feelings on all five categories. I also think he seemed to present the Five Categories as a Holy Grail, instead of guidelines. These were minor grievances however. Then came some problematic language. During most of the first part of the book, Dr. Chapman makes religious references to church, and although it aroused my suspicions (I hate when a book devolves into religious mumbo jumbo) the references seemed to just regulate the topic to another activity couples could share, like both enjoying going to see concerts. However, the end of the book did end in scripture quotes, and extremely questionable advice to a woman who apparently seemed to be in an abusive relationship. Dr. Chapman's view of divorce as immoral then came to the forefront. And I believe his faith came before a woman in need of help. The woman was being emotionally and verbally abused, and very possibly a victim of marital rape. Her own faith was tearing her apart, since her friends, and indeed her emotions were telling her to get out of the relationship. She came to Dr. Chapman to enable her to find a way *not to leave*. When she told Dr. Chapman that all her husband seemed to want her for was sex, Dr. Chapman *going against* references he's made earlier in the book (stating that if love isn't expressed freely, it is not a true expression of love, but rather fear), then he made the suggestion that her husbands language of love was "physical touch" and that she should sleep with him more. The women reacted negatively to the suggestion, saying how emotionally damaged she would feel after a sex act with a man who ignores her and treats her coldly and critically. Dr. Chapman's response was downright cruel and I believe sexist, urging her to ignore her feelings and aim to sleep with her husband twice a week. We live in a culture where sex is seen an act, something a woman gives a man, but is separate from her being. We don't see sex as just two people interacting sexually. And I felt his language attested to having this opinion. That women were sort of sexless, desireless creatures, and should sacrifice being comfortable or feeling safe to satisfy their husbands need for sex. He also expressed in the book his belief that polyamory is unnatural and immoral, and equated it with cheating, and inevitably resulting in abandonment of a spouse. Polyamory obviously happens, so it's absurd to call it unnatural. And while yes, many folks do cheat under the guise of polyamory, polyamory can work when communication, trust, honesty and willpower are combined. The book is still well worth the read. However I found it to be one good idea over-explained, and a few bad ideas, thankfully, mostly just touched on.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2016

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