''Ficus benghalensis'', ''Ficus indica'', or ''Ficus audrey'' commonly known as the

banyan A banyan, also spelled banian ( ), is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adjacent prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as ...

, banyan fig and Indian banyan, is a tree native to the

Indian Subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. Specimens in India are among the largest trees in the world by canopy coverage. It is also known as a " strangler fig" because like many other trees in the genus ''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family (biology), family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few spe ...

'' it starts out as

epiphyte An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

, that is, leaning on another tree that it ends up suffocating.

Description

''Ficus benghalensis'' is an evergreen, monoecious, fast-growing tree found mainly in monsoon and rainforests, that can reach a height of up to 30 meters. It is resistant to drought and mild frost. It produces propagating

aerial root Aerial roots are Root, roots growing above the ground. They are often Plant development#Adventitious structures, adventitious, i.e. formed from nonroot tissue. They are found in diverse plant species, including epiphytes such as orchids ('' ...

s that grow downward. Once these roots reach the ground, they take root and become supportive woody trunks. The figs produced by the tree are eaten by birds such as the Indian myna. Fig seeds that have passed through the digestive system of birds are more likely to germinate than those that have not.

Reproduction

Banyan trees reproduce easily by seed or by stake, and they often spread from the original place by means of aerial roots that anchor in the ground and begin to grow and thicken to the point that they "become independent" from the original trunk, thus managing to "emigrate" sometimes at great distances. The figs are eaten by all kinds of

frugivorous A frugivore ( ) is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance ...

birds such as the coppersmith barbet and the

common myna The common myna or Indian myna (''Acridotheres tristis''), sometimes spelled mynah, is a bird in the Family (biology), family Sturnidae, native to Asia. An omnivorous open woodland bird with a strong territorial instinct, the common myna has ada ...

. Seeds that have passed through the

digestive system The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller compone ...

of birds are more likely to

germinate Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an flowering plant, angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the sp ...

and grow faster. Banyan seeds can fall and grow near a tree, sometimes from the very tree from which they come, and they also usually germinate in a hollow in a trunk or in a wall or rock. Gradually they begin to grow as they have plenty of support as epiphytes on any object they can use to climb in search of

sunlight Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible spectrum, visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrare ...

. Under normal conditions, the tree grows until it reaches a level where it gets the most sunlight, so its height can vary considerably. For this reason, where this tree predominates in a place, rather than growing in height, they spread on the surface, looking for the gaps that are left without vegetation. In general, the crown of this tree extends over a diameter well above its height.

Cultural significance

''Ficus benghalensis'' is the

national tree This is a list of countries that have officially designated one or more trees as their national trees. Most species in the list are officially designated. Some species hold only an "unofficial" status. Additionally, the list includes trees that we ...

of India. The tree is considered sacred in India, and temples are often built nearby. Due to the large size of the tree's canopy, it provides useful shade in hot climates. In

Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' ( anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or '' Dhamma'' in ...

, this tree is said to have been used as the tree for achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi by the twenty fourth

buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

called " Kassapa - කස්සප". The sacred plant is known as "Nuga - නුග" or "Maha nuga - මහ නුග" in Sri Lanka. It is the tree under which Adhinath the first Jain Tirthankara attained Kewal Gyan or spiritual enlightenment.

Notable specimens

The giant banyans of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

are the largest trees in the world by area of canopy coverage. Notable individual trees include: *

Thimmamma Marrimanu Thimmamma Marrimanu () is a banyan tree in Anantapur, located about 25 kilometers from Kadiri, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is probably a specimen of ''Ficus benghalensis''. In the Telugu language, "" denotes "banyan" and "" denotes "trunk". It ...

Kabirvad Kabirvad is a banyan tree located on a small river island in the Narmada River, in Bharuch district, Gujarat, India. The tree and place is associated with 15th-century mystic-poet Kabir, and the location includes a temple dedicated to him. The p ...

The Great Banyan The Great Banyan is a banyan tree (''Ficus benghalensis'') located in Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, Shibpur, Howrah, near Kolkata, India. The great banyan tree draws more visitors to the garden than its collection of exo ...

The largest known tree in the world in terms of the two dimensional area covered by its canopy is

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

, which covers . Its perimeter, , is also the greatest of any known tree.

Nearchus Nearchus or Nearchos (; – 300 BC) was one of the Greeks, Greek officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. He is known for his celebrated expeditionary voyage starting from the Indus River, through the Persian Gulf and ending at t ...

, an admiral of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

, described a large specimen on the banks of the

Narmada River The Narmada River, previously also known as ''Narbada'' or anglicised as ''Nerbudda'', is the 5th longest river in India and overall the longest west-flowing river in the country. It is also the largest flowing river in the state of Madhya Prade ...

in contemporary

Bharuch Bharuch () is a city at the mouth of the river Narmada in Gujarat in western India. Bharuch is the administrative headquarters of Bharuch District. The city of Bharuch and surroundings have been settled since times of antiquity. It was a shi ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

; he may have described the tree presently named "

". The canopy of the tree that

described was said to be so extensive that it sheltered 7,000 men. James Forbes later described it in his ''Oriental Memoirs'' (1813–5) as almost in circumference and having more than 3,000 trunks. Currently its canopy has an area of and a perimeter of . Other notable

n specimens include

in the Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanic Garden in

Shibpur Shibpur is a neighbourhood in Howrah of Howrah district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). It is well known for being the ...

Howrah Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...

, which has a canopy area of and is about 250 years old, and Dodda Aladha Mara in Kettohalli,

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, which has a canopy area of and is about 400 years old.

Gallery

References

External links

* *
Bar or Bargad ''Ficus benghalensis'' L.
Horticulture, Purdue University

Himalayas (Himalaya): photos, images, pictures *http://www.phytopharmajournal.com/V1issue2.6.pdf *http://rjpponline.org/HTMLPaper.aspx?Journal=Research%20Journal%20of%20Pharmacognosy%20and%20Phytochemistry;PID=2014-6-3-9 {{Taxonbar, from=Q1405636 benghalensis National symbols of India Symbols of Madhya Pradesh Trees in Buddhism Sacred trees in Hinduism House plants Ornamental trees Plants described in 1753 Flora of the Indian subcontinent Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Drought-tolerant trees