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A small village named Mandumala on the Harinmari border in Baliadangi Upazila under the Thakurgaon district in Bangladesh has been significantly well-recognised for an ancient Surjapuri mango tree over 22 decades old.
This village is enriched with beauty and greenery. But the speciality of this village is that it has Asia's largest mango tree, which has stood as a natural marvel for more than 220 years.
There are different varieties of mango and mango trees in Bangladesh. According to agricultural specialists, this is Asia's biggest mango tree. The ancient Lata Surjapuri is considered the traditional mango tree by the area's residents, too.
Behind this oldest wonder, there is no special history or pre-planned story. The tree is owned by Noor Islam and Saidur Molla. Noor Islam's great-grandfather had planted this tree. This tree stands on 1 acre of land, which is equivalent to 3 bighas.
From a distance, it looks like a banyan tree. Many people say it looks like a monster-shaped tree, too. The height of this mango tree is 90 feet, spreading in 35 feet radius. There are more than 19 main branches and many sub-branches.
Bangladeshi people love Surjapuri mangoes. This mango is gaining popularity because of its flavour, fragrance, taste, size and appearance.
Mangoes from this large tree are tasty, qualityful and healthy. They weigh around 200 to 250 grams. When the time comes to sell the mangoes, the tree owner sells them at double the price because of their quality and demand. That is why these mangoes are quite pricey.
People often visit the area to see the mango tree. Study tours are also seen. The owner said that some agriculture students and enthusiasts once came to do research regarding this age-old tree.
They conducted morphological characterisation and sample sequence representation based on DNA fingerprinting of selected mango genotypes in Bangladesh.
The owner has covered the area fully to protect the tree. Sometimes, some visiting people do not follow the rules and instructions attached to the sign board. For this reason, the owner has formed a team of around 15 to 20 people to observe and care for this tree.
To enter the boundary, there is an entry fee of only 20 taka. The owner and residents of the area are seeking help from the government to save it and want to make this an entertainment place as a picnic spot so that more people come over to visit this ancient tree.