The prehistoric shape of these trees is rightly famous
but few have ever witnessed the baobab's real magic.
For that happens at night and high in the tree tops.
Flush with water, the baobab prepares itself for an unforgettable display.
Once started, the foot-long flowers can open fully in less than a minute.
As the flowers open, the creatures of the forest wake.
The mouse lemurs have been hibernating throughout the dry season.
With the return of rains, it's time to get busy.
A dozen share this tree-hole, but there's plenty of room.
The world's smallest primate is no bigger than your hand.
High in the branches above, the baobab's nectar is starting to flow.
A drink of this sugary, energy packed liquid is an ideal way
for the lemurs to start their day.
Liquid oozes from the flower's centre and trickles down the petals.
But the nectar is not intended for lemurs.
These giant hawk moths are the drinkers the tree needs to attract.
As they sip, moving from tree to tree,
so they transfer pollen and fertilise the flowers.
Nectar was an excellent first course for lemurs,
but moths are the main dish.
The moths are very important to the lemurs for they will replenish the fat reserves
that the lemurs need to survive the barren dry season.
The lemurs might seem to be a pest for the baobab,
they kill its pollinators and rob it of its nectar but they do give something in return.
For as they wrestle with the moths, their fur inevitably becomes dusted with pollen.
So they too become pollinators.
As the alternation of wet and dry seasons brings change to some tropical forests,
so the progression of summer to winter dictates life in more temperate regions.
Whether trees have needles or broad leaves,
it is their ability to survive annual change
that has enabled them to cover such vast areas of the Earth
and made the seasonal forests the greatest forests of all.