Banyan

trees · fig trees · India · nature

Spreads like a web. Unlike most trees that grow only upward, a banyan grows sideways by dropping special roots from its branches that touch the ground and become new trunks. Over time, one banyan can look like a whole forest of connected trees.

India's sacred tree. The banyan is the national tree of India and has been important in Indian culture for thousands of years. People often gather beneath its massive canopy for shade, celebrations, and even businesses.

Started as a stranger. A baby banyan begins life as a seed stuck in a crack of another tree, where it grows and slowly wraps around its host tree like a hug. Eventually the original tree inside can disappear, leaving only the banyan standing.

Covers massive ground. A single banyan tree can spread so far that it shades an area bigger than several football fields, creating a cool microclimate underneath with its own ecosystem of plants and animals.

Part of the fig family. Banyans are a special type of fig tree, and there are many different fig species around the world with similar spreading habits, though Ficus benghalensis is the most famous banyan.