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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. The biggest banyan tree in Pune, India is said to measure 800 m around its perimeter. Another 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. The single largest unity of Banyan tree in the world is in Howrah (West Bengal) in Botanical Gardens with a width of 420m.

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.

List of species

• The Indian Banyan (Ficus benghalensis) can grow into a giant tree covering several hectares. Probably the largest specimen with a astonishing circumferance of 330m is situated in the Shivpur botanical garden near Kolkata, India. 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.
• The Chinese Banyan (Ficus microcarpa), also known as the Malayan Banyan is native from Ceylon to India, southern China, the Malay Archipelago, the Ryukyu 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.

Gallery

External links

• Plant Cultures: Banyan tree history and botany

Moraceae | Flora of India | Flora of Pakistan

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