The Baobabs of Collins Park

Miami Beach's urban forester once told visitors not to miss an African tree. Writing for the city in May 2015, Mark Williams said a visit to Collins Park to see the baobab should not be missed, and gave it a line of lore: in some African cultures, he wrote, the baobab is considered the Tree of Life, for its strength and size. It did not get here on its own. The naturalists who log it on iNaturalist mark it as cultivated, which means somebody planted it, and nobody has published when. Nobody has published a girth or a height either, so we can tell you what it is but not how big. If you know when it went in, or have put a tape round it, tell us. The plural in our name is deliberate. Baobabs in the park have been recorded about fifteen times between 2024 and 2026, and those records spread across some 80 metres, which suggests more than one tree. No source says which one the forester meant. The newest record is from July 2026, so at least one is standing. Collins Park is a free public park run by the City of Miami Beach, on Collins Avenue at 21st Street, beside the Bass Museum. We have not found its opening hours. Our pin is the middle of that 80-metre spread, not a particular trunk, so look for the baobab rather than the dot.