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{{taxobox
{{short description|Species of fig tree}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Banyan
|name = Banyan
|image = Great banyan tree kol.jpg
|image = Great banyan tree kol.jpg
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|image2= Banyan fruit Ficusbenghalensis IGZoopark Visakhapatnam.JPG
|image2= Banyan fruit Ficusbenghalensis IGZoopark Visakhapatnam.JPG
|image2_caption = Banyan figs at [[Indira Gandhi Zoological Park|Indira Gandhi Zoo Park]], [[Visakhapatnam]]
|image2_caption = Banyan figs at [[Indira Gandhi Zoological Park|Indira Gandhi Zoo Park]], [[Visakhapatnam]]
|regnum = [[Plant]]ae
|genus = Ficus
|unranked_divisio = [[Angiosperms]]
|parent = Ficus subg. Urostigma
|unranked_classis = [[Eudicots]]
|species = benghalensis
|unranked_ordo = [[Rosids]]
|authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]] 1753
|ordo = [[Rosales]]
|familia = [[Moraceae]]
|genus = ''[[Ficus]]''
|subgenus = ''Urostigma''
|species = '''''Ficus benghalensis'''''
|binomial = ''Ficus benghalensis''
|binomial_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]] 1753
|synonyms = *''Ficus banyana'' <small>Oken </small>  
|synonyms = *''Ficus banyana'' <small>Oken </small>  
*''Ficus benghalensis var. krishnae'' <small>(C. D. C.) Corner</small>
*''Ficus benghalensis var. krishnae'' <small>(C. D. C.) Corner</small>
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*''Urostigma tjiela'' <small>Miq.</small><ref>[http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-2809652 ''The Plant List'', ''Ficus benghalensis'' Linnaeus].</ref>
*''Urostigma tjiela'' <small>Miq.</small><ref>[http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-2809652 ''The Plant List'', ''Ficus benghalensis'' Linnaeus].</ref>
}}
}}
'''''Ficus benghalensis''''', commonly known as the '''banyan''', '''banyan fig''' and '''Indian banyan''',<ref name=GRIN>{{GRIN | name = ''Ficus benghalensis'' L. | id = 16783 | accessdate = 8 May 2016 }}</ref> is a tree that grows in [[India]] and [[Bangladesh]]. Some Indian banyan trees are among the largest trees in the world. It is recognized as the [[National trees]] of both the countries of the [[Indian subcontinent]]. It is the largest canopy-holder tree of the world. It can spread up to 2000&nbsp;feet of land. It is said by its scientific name that, this mammoth tree is native and endemic to the Great Bengal Region (both [[Bangladesh]] and [[West Bengal]] of India). In Buddhism the banyan’s habit of supplanting its host tree is likened to the manner in which humans are overcome by sensual desire. Interestingly, the name ‘banyan’ came about when early Portuguese travellers to India noted that traders, or banias, set up shop in the shade of these enormous trees. Eventually the Gujarati word for ‘merchant’ became the name of the tree itself. When traveling in the fascinating country of [[Bangladesh]], be sure to take note of the most unusual banyan tree.<ref name="GRIN"/>


==References==
'''''Ficus benghalensis''''', commonly known as the '''banyan''', '''banyan fig''' and '''Indian banyan''',<ref name=GRIN>{{GRIN | name = ''Ficus benghalensis'' L. | id = 16783 | access-date = 8 May 2016 }}</ref> is a tree native to the [[Indian Subcontinent]]. Specimens in India are among the largest trees in the world by canopy coverage. It also known as the "[[strangler fig]]" because it starts out as [[epiphyte]], that is, leaning on another tree that it ends up suffocating.
{{reflist}}
 
==Description==
[[File:Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften - Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe (1858) (20665373299), Ficus benghalensis.jpg|150px|thumb|left|[[Nature printing|Nature printed]] leaves, showing shape and venation]]
''Ficus benghalensis'' is an evergreen , fast-growing tree found mainly in monsoon and rainforests, that can reach a height of up to 30 meters.<ref>{{Cite web|title= Ficus benghalensis|url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:852482-1|access-date=19 June 2022|website=Royal Botanic Gardens KEW Plants of the World Online|language=en-UK}}</ref> It is resistant to drought and mild frost. It produces propagating roots which grow downwards as [[aerial root]]s on the branches that grow downward like [[liana]]s. Once these roots reach the ground, they take root and become woody trunks and supportive.
 
The figs produced by the tree are eaten by birds such as the [[Indian myna]]. Fig seeds that pass through the digestive system of birds are more likely to germinate and sprout earlier.<ref>Midya, S.; Brahmachary, R. L. (1991) "The Effect of Birds Upon Germination of Banyan (''Ficus bengalensis'') Seeds". ''Journal of Tropical Ecology''. 7(4):537-538.</ref>
 
==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]] birds such as the [[coppersmith barbet]] and the [[common myna]]. Seeds that have passed through the [[digestive system]] of birds are more likely to [[germinate]] 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 bear [[fruit]] 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]]. 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]] of India.<ref>{{cite web|title=National Tree|url=https://archive.india.gov.in/knowindia/national_symbols.php?id=5|publisher=Govt. of India Official website|access-date=2019-04-26|archive-date=2020-01-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200119072753/https://archive.india.gov.in/knowindia/national_symbols.php?id=5|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
The tree is considered sacred in India,<ref>{{cite book|title=Plants of Life, Plants of Death|author=Simoons, F.J.|isbn=9780299159047|year=1998|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press}}</ref> 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]], this tree is said to have been used as the tree for achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi by the twenty fourth [[Buddhahood|buddha]] called "[[Kassapa Buddha|Kassapa - කස්සප]]". The sacred plant is known as "Nuga - නුග" or "Maha nuga - මහ නුග"  in Sri Lanka.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.plantsmap.com/organizations/25177/plants/54264|title=Ficus benghalensis (Banyan Tree) - Zone J|date=2018-05-01|author=Bali Hai|publisher=Plants Map|access-date=2019-04-26}}</ref>
 
It is the tree under which Lord Adhinath the first Jain Tirthankara attained Kewal Gyan or spiritual enlightenment.
 
==Notable specimens==
{{For|a more complete list|List of Banyan trees in India}}
The giant banyans of [[India]] are the largest trees in the world by area of canopy coverage. Notable trees include:
*[[Thimmamma Marrimanu]]
*[[Kabirvad]]
*[[The Great Banyan]]


The largest known specimen of tree in the world in terms of the two dimensional area covered by its canopy is [[Thimmamma Marrimanu]] in [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[India]], which covers {{convert|19107|sqm}}. This tree is also the largest known specimen of tree in the world in terms of the length of its perimeter, which measures {{convert|846|m}}.<ref name=Bar-Ness>{{cite journal|author=Bar-Ness, YD|title=The World's Largest Trees? Cataloguing India's Giant Banyans|url=https://www.outreachecology.com/portfolio/The%20Worlds%20Largest%20Trees%20Cataloguing%20Indias%20Giant%20Banyans-by%20YD%20Bar-Ness-Outreach%20Ecology%20Report-Jun10.pdf|date=June 2010|publisher=Outreach Ecology}}</ref>


==Other websites==
[[Nearchus]], an admiral of [[Alexander the Great]], described a large specimen on the banks of the [[Narmada River]] in contemporary [[Bharuch]], [[Gujarat]], [[India]]; he may have described the specimen presently named "[[Kabirvad]]". The canopy of the specimen which [[Nearchus]] described was so extensive that it sheltered 7,000 men. James Forbes later described it in his ''Oriental Memoirs'' (1813-5) as almost {{convert|2000|ft|abbr=on|order=flip}} in circumference and having more than 3,000 trunks.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Fig}}</ref> Currently the area of its canopy is {{convert|17520|sqm}} with a perimeter of {{convert|641|m}}.<ref name=Bar-Ness/>
{{Commons category|Ficus benghalensis}}
{{Wikispecies|Ficus benghalensis}}


Other notable [[India]]n specimens include [[The Great Banyan]] in the [[Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden|Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanic Garden]] in [[Shibpur]], [[Howrah]], which has a canopy area of {{convert|18918|sqm}} and is about 250 years old, and [[Dodda Aladha Mara]] in Kettohalli, [[Karnataka]], which has a canopy area of {{convert|12000|sqm}} and is about 400 years old.


[[Category:Plants of Asia]]
==Gallery==
[[Category:National symbols of India]]
{{gallery
[[Category:National symbols of Bangladesh]]
|Fruits of Indian banyan Suhrawardi Udyan Dhaka .jpg|Ripe fruits of Indian banyan. [[Suhrawardy Udyan]] , [[Dhaka]]
|Banyantree.jpg|In front of the [[Edison and Ford Winter Estates|Edison museum]] in [[Fort Myers, Florida|Fort Myers]], [[Florida]], US
|Sarkaradevi Temple Ficus Tree.jpg|Ficus tree in front of [[Sarkaradevi Temple]], [[Chirayinkeezhu]], Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
}}


==References==
{{Reflist}}


{{biology-stub}}
==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*{{Wikispecies-inline}}
*[http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/CropFactSheets/ficus.html Bar or Bargad ''Ficus benghalensis'' L.], Horticulture, Purdue University
*[http://www.himalaya-foto.ru/himalayas-banyan-nepal.htm ''Ficus benghalensis'' in Himalayas, Nepal.] 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


{{Symbols of India}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1405636}}


{{simple-Wikipedia}}
[[Category:Ficus|benghalensis]]
[[Category:National symbols of India]]
[[Category:Symbols of Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Trees in Buddhism]]
[[Category:Sacred trees in Hinduism]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
[[Category:Flora of the Indian subcontinent]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
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