Introduction. The baobab tree’s potential overexploitation has recently beenreinforced by the acceptance of baobab fruit pulp in the EU and US food markets. Despitethe number of recent studies on this species, Adansonia digitata, littleis known from Malawi, the main exporter of baobab fruit pulp in Africa. Materialsand methods. Information on distribution and density of baobab trees present inMalawi was gathered from field surveys. The Maxent software based on the maximum-entropyapproach for species habitat modelling was used together with spatial environmental dataand geo-referenced records of the baobab tree to analyse its ecological preferences andpotential cultivation sites. Farmers were interviewed about who was using and buyingbaobab fruits in different areas. Fruit and leaf morphological diversity was assessed ineight study sites selected along a latitudinal gradient. Results anddiscussion. The baobab tree was found to be widely distributed in southernMalawi, with variable densities. Modelling results show that this species could becultivated in most of the southern region. A large morphological diversity in both fruitand leaf characteristics was observed, which gives the opportunity to select moredesirable characters for cultivation. Conclusion. Our study showed that,while some areas of high baobab tree density could be further exploited, its cultivation,however, should be recommended in areas with low density of baobab trees in southernMalawi because there is little natural regeneration. Moreover, this study suggested thatthere is room for selecting baobab planting material with desirable characteristics forcultivation purposes in Malawi.