On Mon, 10 Nov 1997 12:53:16 +1200, southd@fri.cri.nz wrote: > Dear Rohan: > > > Thanks for the info regarding old planted trees!. However, I assume the cutting > was planted by Princess Sanghamitta in the 3rd century BC (not about 2300 BC). > If it was planted in 2,300 BC, this would make the tree over 4,200 years old!!! > > > http://sofserv.forestry.auburn.edu/people/faculty/biology/ > south/planted.html > > ================= > > Hello, > > Are you only interested in trees that are old and * huge * ? > In Sri Lanka we have what is said to be the oldest > * historical * tree. This is a Bo tree (* Ficus religiosa *) > in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. It is said to have been brought > as a sapling from India by Princess Sanghamitta, daughter of > King Dharmasoka around 2300 B.C. It is said that the original > tree from which the sapling was obtained was the one under > which Gautama Buddha received enlightment over 2500 years > ago. The original tree is, however, no more which makes that > in Sri Lanka the oldest remaining historical tree. > > Also, there is a tamarind tree (* Tamarindus indica * or is > it * T. indicus * (?)) on the Elahera-Bakamuna road in Sri > Lanka, which, I am told, is the fourth oldest historical tree > in the world. It is reported to be over 1700 years old dating > from the reign of King Mahasen (276-304 A.D.) whose name is > still revered in connection with the irrigation schemes of > that region. The tree's Sinhala name, * Orubendi Siyambalawe > *, means the tamarind tree to which canoes were tied in that > period. I have been told that the tamarind, though > widespread, is not indigenous to Sri Lanka, so this tree > could qualify as > a planted tree, I suppose. > > Finally, I should mention that the Heneratgoda Botanical > Gardens, a few miles from Colombo, were the location where > the first rubber trees (* Hevea brasiliensis *) were planted > in Asia. These were seedlings which were brought from Kew in > 1876. > > The above is from memory with some material (on the tamarind > tree) from a newspaper article, so more details could perhaps > be checked out from a more authoritative source than I have > available with me at present. > > Regards, > > Rohan H. Wickramasinghe, > Institute for Tropical Environmental Studies, 41 Flower Road, > Colombo 7, > Sri Lanka > (e-mail: rohan@ites.ac.lk) Hello, David South sent me the above observation/ correction. Sorry for the blunder. Cheers, Rohan H. Wickramasinghe (e-mail: rohan@ites.ac.lk)
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