Banyan

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This article is about the tree. For other uses, see Banyan (disambiguation).

Banyan (genus Ficus, subgenus Urostigma) is a subgenus of many species of tropical figs with an unusual growth habit. They are large trees that usually start life as a seedling epiphytic on another tree (or on structures like buildings and bridges), where a fig-eating bird has deposited the seed. The roots descend over the trunk of the host seeking out the soil below, once they have rooted into this the fig roots rapidly thicken and lignify. Where the fig roots cross each other they fuse, thus creating a lattice around the host tree's trunk. The fig competes with its host for light, water and nutrients, while its roots prevent the host's trunk from growing. Eventually the host dies and rots away, leaving the fig self supporting as an ordinary tree, but with a tubular lattice of lignified roots instead of a trunk. For this reason banyans are often referred to as strangler figs.

Another unusual feature of the banyan is its ability to produce adventitious roots from the branches. This characteristic of developing aerial roots allows a single tree to spread over a large area. One famous banyan tree was planted in 1873 in Lahaina's Courthouse Square in Hawai'i, and has grown to now cover two-thirds of an acre.

Like other members of this genus (which includes the common edible fig Ficus carica), banyans have a unique fruit and insect mediated fertilization process; see Fig for details.

It is originally from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, but has been imported in other tropical regions. It is also the national tree of India. The first banyan tree in the U.S. was planted by Thomas Alva Edison in Fort Myers, Florida. It was given to Edison by Harvey Firestone after Firestone visited India in 1925 and was planted in the Edison and Ford Winter Estates. The tree, originally only 4 feet tall, now covers 400 feet.

[edit] List of species

• The Indian Banyan (Ficus benghalensis) can grow into a giant tree covering several hectares. The Great Banyan in the Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah, is reckoned to be the largest tree in the world.

• The Chinese Banyan (Ficus microcarpa), also known as the Malayan Banyan is native from Ceylon to India, southern China, the Malay Archipelago, the Ryūkyū Islands, Australia, and New Caledonia.

• The Central American Banyan (Ficus pertusa) is native to Central America and northern South America, from southern Mexico south to Paraguay.

• The Strangler Fig (Ficus citrifolia) is native to southern Florida, the Caribbean Islands, Central America and South America south to Paraguay.

• The Florida Strangler Fig (Ficus aurea) is also native to southern Florida and the Caribbean Islands, and distinguished from the above by its coarser leaf venation.

• The Sacred Fig (Ficus religiosa), Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla) and Port Jackson Fig (Ficus rubiginosa) are also banyan species.

[edit] Trivia

• The Banyan is part of the coat of arms of Indonesia. It is meant to symbolise the unity of Indonesia - one country with many far-flung roots.
• Robinson Crusoe, in the 1719 novel by Daniel Defoe makes his home in a Banyan tree.
• Brian Aldiss, in his novel Hothouse, describes a future Earth where a single huge Banyan covers half of the globe, due to the fact that individual trees discover the ability to join together, as well as drop adventitious roots.

[edit] Gallery

Indian Banyan (Ficus benghalensis)	Banyan Tree at Melbourne Botanical Gardens	Air roots hanging from the branches	The wide canopy with the fallen leaves covering the ground.
A Banyan in Lāhainā, Hawai'i, planted in 1873.

[edit] External links

• Plant Cultures: Banyan tree history and botanycdo:Sṳ̀ng-chéu (Hók-ciŭ chê-chéu)

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