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{{short description|Species of fig tree}}
{{taxobox
{{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]]
|genus = Ficus
|regnum = [[Plant]]ae
|parent = Ficus subg. Urostigma
|unranked_divisio = [[Angiosperms]]
|species = benghalensis
|unranked_classis = [[Eudicots]]
|authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]] 1753
|unranked_ordo = [[Rosids]]
|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">{{GRIN | name = ''Ficus benghalensis'' L. | id = 16783 | accessdate = 8 May 2016 }}</ref>


'''''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.
==References==
{{reflist}}


==Ecology==
==Other websites==
[[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]]
{{Commons category|Ficus benghalensis}}
''Ficus benghalensis'' produces propagating roots which grow downwards as [[aerial root]]s. Once these roots reach the ground they grow into woody trunks.
{{Wikispecies|Ficus benghalensis}}


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>


==Cultural significance==
[[Category:Plants of Asia]]
''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}}</ref>
[[Category:National symbols of India]]
 
[[Category:National symbols of Bangladesh]]
[[Image:Sarkaradevi Temple Ficus Tree.jpg|thumb|right|Ficus tree in front of [[Sarkaradevi Temple]], [[Chirayinkeezhu]], Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala]]
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 [[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>
 
[[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/>
 
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.
 
==Gallery==
[[File:Fruits of Indian banyan Suhrawardi Udyan Dhaka .jpg|thumb|Ripe fruits of Indian banyan. [[Suhrawardy Udyan]] , [[Dhaka]]]]
[[File:Banyantree.jpg|thumb|In front of the [[Edison and Ford Winter Estates|Edison museum]] in [[Fort Myers, Florida|Fort Myers]], [[Florida]], US]]


==References==
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
{{biology-stub}}
*{{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}}
 
[[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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