Abanyan, also spelledbanian (/ˈbænjən/BAN-yən),[1] is afig that develops accessory trunks fromadjacent prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely.[2] This distinguishes banyans from other trees with astrangler habit that begin life as anepiphyte,[3] i.e. a plant that grows on another plant, when itsseed germinates in a crack or crevice of a host tree or edifice. "Banyan" often specifically denotesFicus benghalensis (the "Indian banyan"), which is thenational tree of India,[4] though the name has also been generalized to denominate all figs that share a common life cycle and usedsystematically intaxonomy to denominate thesubgenusUrostigma.[5]
Like other fig species, banyans also bear their fruit in the form of a structure called a "syconium". The syconium ofFicus species supply shelter and food forfig wasps and the trees depend on the fig wasps for pollination.[6]
Frugivore birds disperse the seeds of banyans. The seeds are small, and because most banyans grow inwoodlands, a seedling that germinates on the ground is unlikely to survive. However, many seeds fall on the branches and stems of other trees or on human edifices, and when they germinate they grow roots down toward the ground and consequently may envelop part of the host tree or edifice.This is colloquially known as a "strangler" habit, which banyans share with a number of other tropicalFicus species, as well as some other unrelated genera such asClusia andMetrosideros.[2][7][8][page needed][9]
The leaves of the banyan tree are large, leathery, glossy, green, and elliptical. Like most figs, the leaf bud is covered by two large scales. As the leaf develops the scales abscise. Young leaves have an attractive reddish tinge.[10]
Older banyan trees are characterized byaerial prop roots that mature into thick, woody trunks, which can become indistinguishable from the primary trunk with age. These aerial roots can become very numerous.The Great Banyan of Kolkata, which has been tracked carefully for many years, currently has 2,880 supplementary trunks.[11] Such prop roots can be sixty feet (eighteen meters) in height.[12][13] Old trees can spread laterally by using these prop roots to grow over a wide area. In some species, the prop roots develop over a considerable area that resembles a grove of trees, with every trunk connected directly or indirectly to the primary trunk. The topology of this massive root system inspired the name of thehierarchical computer network operating system "Banyan VINES".[14]
Looking upward inside a strangler fig where the host tree has rotted away, leaving a hollow, columnar fig tree
In a banyan that envelops its host tree, the mesh of roots growing around the latter eventually applies considerable pressure to and commonly kills it. Such an enveloped, dead tree eventually decomposes, so that the banyan becomes a "columnar tree" with a hollow, central core. In jungles, such hollows are very desirable shelters to many animals.[citation needed]
From research, it is known that the longevity of banyan tree is due to multiple signs of adaptive (MSA) evolution of genes.[15]
The name was originally given toF. benghalensis and comes from India, where early European travelers observed that the shade of the tree was frequented byBanyans (a corruption of Baniyas, a community of Indian traders).[16]
The original banyan,F. benghalensis, can grow into a giant tree covering several hectares. Over time, the name became generalized to allstrangler figs of theUrostigma subgenus. The many banyan species also include:
The Central American banyan (Ficus pertusa) is native to Central America and northern South America, from southern Mexico south toParaguay.[citation needed]
The shortleaf fig (Ficus citrifolia) is native toSouth Florida, theCaribbean islands, Central America, and South America south to Paraguay. One theory is that the Portuguese name forF. citrofolia,os barbados, gaveBarbados its name.[citation needed]
The Florida strangler fig (Ficus aurea) is also native to South Florida and the Caribbean islands, and distinguished from the above by its coarser leaf venation.[citation needed]
Due to the complex structure of the roots and extensive branching, the banyan is used as a subject specimen inpenjing andbonsai. The oldest living bonsai inTaiwan is a 240-year-old banyan tree housed inTainan.[18]
Banyan trees figure prominently in several Asian and Pacific religions and myths, including:
InHinduism, the leaf of the banyan tree is said to be the resting place for the godKrishna.
In theBhagavat Gita, Krishna said, "There is a banyan tree which has its roots upward and its branches down, and the Vedic hymns are its leaves. One who knows this tree is the knower of the Vedas." (Bg 15.1) Here the material world is described as a tree whose roots are upwards and branches are below. We have experience of a tree whose roots are upward: if one stands on the bank of a river or any reservoir of water, he can see that the trees reflected in the water are upside down. The branches go downward and the roots upward. Similarly, this material world is a reflection of the spiritual world. The material world is but a shadow of reality. In the shadow there is no reality or substantiality, but from the shadow we can understand that there is substance and reality.[citation needed]
InBuddhism'sPali canon, the banyan (Pali:nigrodha)[21] is referenced numerous times.[22] Typical metaphors allude to the banyan'sepiphytic nature, likening the banyan's supplanting of a host tree as comparable to the way sensual desire (kāma) overcomes humans.[23]
InGuam, theChamorro people believe in tales oftaotaomona,duendes, and other spirits. Taotaomona are spirits of the ancient Chamorro that act as guardians to banyan trees.[24]
In Vietnamese mythology of theMid-Autumn Festival, thedark markings on the Moon are a banyan, a magical tree originally planted bya man named Cuội on Earth. When his wife watered it with unclean water, the tree uprooted itself with the man hanging on it and flew to the Moon, where he eternally accompanied theMoon Lady and theJade Rabbit.[25][26]
In thePhilippines, they are usually referred to asbalete trees, which are home to certain deities and spirits.[27]
InOkinawa, the tree is referred to as gajumaru, which, according to traditional folklore, is the home for the mythicalKijimuna.[citation needed]
Thimmamma Marrimanu is a banyan tree inAnantapur, located circa 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the town of Kadiri in the state ofAndhra Pradesh, India. It is recognized as the world's largest banyan tree. It is present in the Indian Botanical Gardens and is more than 550 years old. Itscanopy covers 21,000 m2 (2.1 ha)[28]
Another such tree,Dodda Aalada Mara as in "Big Banyan Tree", is found in the village of Ramohalli, on the outskirts ofBangalore, India; it has a spread of circa 2.5 acres.[29]
TheIolani Palace banyans inHonolulu, Hawaii. In the 1880sQueen Kapiolani planted two banyan trees within theIolani Palace grounds. These trees have since grown into large groupings of trees on the old historic palace grounds.[30]
One large banyan tree, Kalpabata, is inside the premises ofJagannath Temple inPuri. It is considered sacred by the devotees and is supposed to be more than 500 years old.[32]
A large banyan tree lives inCypress Gardens, at the Legoland theme park located in Winter Haven, Florida. It was planted in 1939 in a 5-gallon bucket.[33]
Adayar Banyan Tree, located in the Theosophical Society Campus in Adayar, Chennai, India, is around 450 years old.
The banyan tree fromMiary, Madagascar which is said to be 1,700 years old.[34]
The banyan tree is depicted in thecoat of arms of Indonesia as a manifestation of the third principle ofPancasila (the unity of all of Indonesia). It is also used in the emblem ofGolkar.[35]
The Economistmagazine features an opinion column covering topics pertaining to Asia named "Banyan".[36]
In southernVanuatu, the clearings under banyan trees are used astraditional meeting places. The quarterly newsletter of the British Friends of Vanuatu Society is namedNabanga, after the local word for banyan.[37]
The title track fromSteely Dan's 1977 albumAja contains the lyric "Chinese music under banyan trees, here at the dude ranch, above the sea."[40]
On 13 December 2021,Chinese Communist Party (CCP) general secretaryXi Jinping personally intervened to punish and demote 10 CCP officials inGuangzhou after they cut down or uprooted thousands of banyan trees.[41]
During the age of sail, 'Banyan' was used as an expression for a party, especially one at the fo'c'sle. This is likely due to religious festivals in India being held under the tree, of which East Indiamen would have been familiar.[42]
^Zhou Zhekun; Gilbert, Michael G. (2003)."Moraceae"(PDF). In Zhengyi Wu; Raven, Peter H.; Deyuan Hong (eds.).Flora of China. Vol. 5. Science Press. pp. 21–73.ISBN978-1-930723-27-6. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 1 September 2006.
^Serventy, Vincent (1984).Australian Native Plants. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Reed.ISBN978-0-7301-0020-1.
^"Light in the Rainforest"(PDF).Tropical Topics. Vol. 1, no. 5. Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage. 1992. p. 1. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 29 May 2009.
^See, e.g.,SN 46.39, "Trees [Discourse]," trans. by Bhikkhu Bodhi (2000),Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya (Boston: Wisdom Publications), pp. 1593, 1906 n. 81; and,Sn 2.5 v. 271 or 272 (Fausböll, 1881,p. 46).
^"Ghost stories: Taotaomona, duendes and other spirits inhabit Guam".Pacific Daily News. Guam. 28 October 2007.
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