Baobab leaves

Adansonia digitata

leaf

Young leaves of the African baobab, dried and ground into a green powder, lalo, which binds and thickens West African sauces. They provide beta-carotene and lutein.

Origin

Savannas of Africa

Season (United States)

all year round

Preparation

Dried as powder (lalo), they are stirred into a sauce or couscous at the end of cooking, which they bind; fresh and young, they are cooked for a few minutes like spinach.

Molecules

Beta-carotene (vitamin A) · Lutein and zeaxanthinIn small amounts, not counted Mucilages

Did you know?

Its swollen trunk, of soft, water-filled wood, earns it the name bottle tree; it stays leafless for much of the dry season.