Restored and blooming again

A passer-by stopping to take photos of the flowers of the baobab tree on the traffic island between Jalan Residensi and Jalan Macalister in Penang. (Right) A worker cutting weeds near the baobab tree. — Photos: CHAN BOON KAI/The Star

BELIEVED to be the country’s oldest planted tree, the 149-year-old baobab tree on the island between Jalan Residensi and Jalan Macalister is among the most unusual looking trees in Penang.

And with it flowering now, the tree gives off an exotic appearance as its white flowers with large crinkled petals and big cluster of stamens can be seen dangling from its branches on long stems.