Voi Phuc Temple muom, Vietnam's first heritage tree

Vietnam's first heritage trees were nine at this temple, and within a few years eight of them were dead. On 1 October 2010 the Vietnam Association for Nature and Environment Protection, VACNE, gave its very first Vietnam Heritage Tree recognition to nine muom, a wild mango, at Voi Phuc Temple on Kim Ma street. Eight stood in the courtyard and one across the road. They ranged from 17 to 29 metres tall and from 2.92 to 5.20 metres round. VACNE put them at about 700 years, the same age as the temple. A former site manager said nearly 1,000. Nobody gave a basis for either, so the safe statement is several centuries. Then the trees began to go. By February 2014 a Vietnamese paper counted four alive, two felled in 2012 and three dead. By 2021 Tien Phong reported only one old muom left despite treatment, and a 2025 article said the same. The temple planted replacements and has been criticised for the losses. No source says which trunk survived, how big it is, or exactly where it stands, so the pin marks the temple rather than the tree. If you find it, tell us which one it is. The temple is dedicated to Prince Linh Lang, and its name means the kneeling elephant. Caretakers keep visitors from picking the fruit or breaking branches. It opens daily from 08:00 to 20:00 by its map listing.