Thimmamma Marrimanu: a single tree that forms a forest of 19,000 m2

A forest is an entire ecosystem. The common thing is that they inhabit different species, plants and animals. Although trees are predominant, there are multiple varieties of them. But in India there is a very different place, where a single tree forms a forest of thousands of square meters.

This is the banyan species (ficus benghalensis), also known as the banyan tree. To the untrained eye, it can appear to be many trees, when in fact it is many stems growing from the same trunk. Of this same species is the specimen that was recognized in 1989 as the largest tree in the world, and is found in India. Nearby villagers named it Thimmamma Marrimanu, which means “Thimmamma’s banyan tree”.

It is located east of the Kadiri forest reserve, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, one hour from Bangalore, one of the largest cities in India. According to estimates, this tree-forest has an area of ​​19,000 square meters.

But how is it possible for a single tree to form an entire forest? It is due to the particularities of the banyan tree, which is capable of growing in the most unthinkable places. The seeds of this species grow primarily in the cracks of a host tree. Similarly, they can develop on the wall of a building.

Squirrels and birds are dedicated to spreading the seeds, although it is also possible that it grows in the traditional way: from the ground, forming roots like any other tree.

Over time, the young banyan strangles the host tree. Once it has a firm trunk, its branches begin to spread out horizontally and aerial roots grow from them that descend until they reach the ground, giving the impression of being stems of different trees.

And so it was that the Thimmamma Marrimanu became the largest tree in the world, growing and spreading its branches further and further to the sides.

There is a whole spiritual culture around this tree, which is of the utmost importance within the Hindu religion. According to legend, in 1433, the tree originated from the mast of a funeral pyre (ritual cremation). The wife of the man who had died is said to have thrown herself into a fire to commit suicide.

Since then, the tree would have grown and grown to become this kind of forest, internationally recognized and appreciated by the locals as a place of deep spiritual importance.

Local people tie ribbons around the branches of the tree and leave religious figures on the base as offerings to the gods Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, who reside in the tree’s roots, trunk and leaves, respectively.

According to the residents, the tree continues to grow, at a rate of about 15 centimeters each year.

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