By a strict definition of individuality, and using contending measures of size, , the giant banyan trees of India, Ficus benghalensis, are the largest trees in the world. In these trees, a network of interconnected stems and branches has grown entirely by vegetative, "branching" propagation. One individual, Thimmamma Marrimanu, in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, India, covers 19,107 square metres (4 acres), making it the largest single tree by two-dimensional canopy coverage area. This tree is also the world's largest known tree by a related measure, perimeter length, with a distance of 846 metres required to walk around the edge of the canopy. Thimmama Marrimanu is likely also the world's largest tree by three dimensional canopy volume. It is present in the Indian Botanical Gardens and is more than 200 years old. Its branches spreads over 8 acres, and hence was recorded as the biggest tree in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1989. A small temple dedicated to Thimmamma lies under the tree. An account of this lady in Telugu kept at the shrine reveals that she was the daughter of a Setti Balija couple Sennakka Venkatappa and Mangamma, born in AD 1394. She was married to a Bala Veerayya who died in 1434, and Thimmamma committed Sati. The banyan tree is believed to have sprouted at the place where she ascended the funeral pyre.
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