The Big Tree is a tree near the town of

Akim Oda Akim Oda is a town in the Eastern Region of south Ghana and is the capital of the Birim Central Municipal District and the traditional capital of Akyem Kotoku. In 2013, Akim Oda had a settlement population of 60,604 people. Geography and c ...

which is tall and in

diameter In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest chord of the circle. Both definitions are also valid fo ...

, and believed to be the biggest tree ever discovered in Ghana and West Africa. It is a member of the species ''

Tieghemella heckelii ''Tieghemella heckelii'' (also called baku or cherry mahogany) is a tree species of the genus ''Tieghemella'' in the plant family Sapotaceae. The species occurs in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone and is thr ...

''. It is located in the Esen Apam Forest Reserve, about 22 kilometers from Akim Oda, about off the Oda-Agona Swedru trunk road. The tree is known to be between 350 and 400 years old, and has a low natural generational success rate which is a contributory factor to its likelihood of extinction.

History

There are many spiritual myths about the discovery of the tree. It is believed that the tree was discovered by Yaw Andoh a hunter named from Akim Asanteman, several years ago.

Beliefs

The tree serves as a heritage object and also a spiritual object. There is a belief there could be some spiritual powers behind it. This has led many visiting the tree to perform sacrifices and prayer as well as offer gifts to it. It is also believed that the tree is able to heal a sick person who visits the site to perform the necessary rituals. Others also are of the view that infertile women are able to conceive when they use the leaves and the bark of the tree as herbs

Tourism

The tree has a thick grey bark and is cylindrical. It is also longitudinally ridged with slash bright pink leaves which attracts tourists. The tree has attracted many people from different parts of the world, especially Indian and Asia continents.

References

Individual trees {{Ghana-stub