Cajueiro de Pirangi (Giant Cashew Tree)

About this place

The Cajueiro de Pirangi is known as the largest cashew tree in the world, covering some 8,500 square metres with a perimeter of nearly 500 metres, so that it looks to visitors like a small forest, though it is in fact essentially a single tree. A fisherman named Luís Inácio de Oliveira is said to have planted it in 1888; he lived to 93 and died in its shade. The secret of its size is two genetic quirks: its branches grow sideways rather than upwards, then bend under their own weight until they touch the ground, where they put down roots and grow again like the trunk of another tree, and so on. In season it produces some 70,000 to 80,000 cashew fruits. Visitors walk under its branches along pathways; the visit is short, and cashew fruit, juice and products are sold around it. Payment at the entrance is electronic only.