Cashew of Pirangi facts for kids
The Cashew of Pirangi (called Cajueiro de Pirangi in Portuguese) is known as the world's largest cashew tree. You can find this amazing cashew tree in Pirangi do Norte, a town in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
In 1994, this giant tree made it into the Guinness Book of Records because of its incredible size. It covers a huge area, about 7,300 to 8,400 square meters (that's like 1.8 to 2.1 acres!). Imagine, this one tree is as big as about 70 regular cashew trees put together! Its outer edge measures around 500 meters (or 1,640 feet) around.
The area around the World's Largest Cashew Tree is also a popular spot. Many people come here to buy beautiful lace and embroidery made in the Rio Grande do Norte state.
How the Tree Grew So Big
This cashew tree didn't just grow tall like most trees. Instead, it grew outwards in a very special way. Its branches grew so long and heavy that they bent down towards the ground.
When these branches touched the soil, they started to grow new roots! This helped the tree spread out even more. If you look at pictures of the inside of the tree, you can see how the branches have rooted themselves. Because of this unique growth, it's now very hard to tell where the original main trunk of the tree is. It's all one giant, sprawling plant!
How Old Is It?
People say the Cashew of Pirangi was planted way back in 1888. However, scientists have studied how the tree grows. They believe it might actually be much, much older than that. Some experts think the tree could be more than a thousand years old!
Even though it's so old and huge, the tree still produces a lot of fruit. Every year, it grows over 60,000 cashew fruits. That's a lot of cashews from just one tree!
