What’s that Tree?
Scientific Name: Ficus Bengalensis
Indian Banyan trees are huge, vast and drooping to the lives who rely on this tree. The branches are extensive and give us a sight of a cluster of trees together. The huge tree of Banyan towers over its neighbour’s and has the widest reaching roots of all known trees. The size and leafy shelter are valued in India as a place of rest and reflection. It is also known as Bargad, Vata Vriksha, and Barh. The huge size and long life make an illusion that it’s an immortal tree. It has been a central point in villages in India, where village communities held their council meetings under the cool shade of this giant tree and also placed their deities for worship.
“The banyan tree has many stories to tell; the murmuring leaves, the intertwined branches, the roots moving to the music of the wind whispers us a lot of untold tales”
Banyans are the ecological backbone of nature. They create a biome on their own, giving a home to many species of birds, fruit bats, primates and other creatures, which in turn disperse these seeds to hundreds of other plants. Banyan tree has life within its branches as it provides nurturing sustenance to birds, insects and shades them in its canopy. They are the ecological linchpins. Banyan tree has got immense medicinal value, the extracts are used commonly for the treatment of various infections and diseases due to their medicinal properties. The bark and seeds can be used as a tonic to maintain body temperature and treat diabetes. The roots can be used to strengthen the teeth and gums by brushing with them. Banyan tree leaves have healing and anti-microbial properties. The leaves of the banyan trees are large, leathery, glossy green and elliptical. Banyan leaves are used for treating many diseases like nausea, vomiting, or diarrhoea due to their Kashaya (astringent) and Sita (cold) nature.
The Eternal Shelter
Banyan trees are considered sacred and so they are mostly planted in temples and their surroundings due to the belief that many gods are residing in them. Banyans are the world’s biggest trees in terms of the area they cover. The biggest one alive today is in Andhra Pradesh. The
Thimmamma Marrimanu is the world’s biggest tree and recorded as the largest tree specimen in the Guinness Book of World Records. It covers 1.9 hectares (4.7acres) and can shelter 20000 people.
A Banyan tree like other trees starts from a seed and grows into a giant tree teaching us that we can also grow similarly little by little budding tiny ‘roots’ here and there which could be the love and support of the relationships we nurture over time. It continually shoots out new roots into the ground, looking for growth we can also try to grow like the ‘roots’, forever progressing but remaining rooted to a spot giving nourishment to those below us and helping them also to grow along, a symbiotic relationship of nurture and caring. Its humility is seen by its virtue to protect all creatures who come under its shade.
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