Robert Knox's Tamarind Tree (Muttur)

Robert Knox's Tamarind Tree (Photo credit: Google Street View)

Robert Knox's Tamarind Tree, also known as White Man's Tamarind Tree (Sinhala: රොබට් නොක්ස්ගේ සියඹලා ගස), is an old tree situated in Muttur village in Trincomalee District Sri Lanka.

It is a Tamarind tree (scientific name: Tamarindus indica), a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit. As per the beliefs of locals, this tree has a history associated with Robert Knox (1641-1720 A.D.), an English sea captain who lived in Sri Lanka for 19 years as a captive of King Rajasinghe II (1635-1687 A.D.) of Kandy. Knox is said to have been captured under the mother tree of this tamarind tree that was blown down in the great cyclone of 1958. The plaque that is fixed on the encircling wall of this tree can be read as follows;

This is the White Man's tree under which Robert Knox Captain of the ship "Ann" was captured. A.D. 1660.
This stone was placed here in 1893