Adansonia is a genus of nine species of tree, including six native to Madagascar, two native to mainland Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and one native to Australia. One of the mainland African species also occurs on Madagascar, but it is not a native of that island, and was introduced in ancient times to south Asia and during the colonial era to the Caribbean. It is also present in the island of Cape Verde. The ninth species was described in 2012, incorporating upland populations of southern and eastern Africa.
A typical common name is baobab. The generic name honours Michel Adanson, the French naturalist and explorer who described Adansonia digitata.