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{{Short description|Subgenus of fig trees}}
{{About|the tree}}
{{distinguish|Bunyan (disambiguation)}}
{{original research|date=April 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{automatic taxobox
|name = Banyan
|image = Big Banyan Tree at Bangalore.jpg
|image_caption = Banyan with characteristic adventitious prop roots
|taxon = Ficus subg. Urostigma
|subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
|subdivision =
See {{section link|Ficus|Subgenus Urostigma}}.
}}
[[File:Banyan tree at Naples FL preserve.jpg|alt=The biggest tree|thumb|A Banyan Tree at the Naples, Florida Preserve]]

A '''banyan''', also spelled '''banian''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|æ|n|j|ən}} {{respell|BAN|yən}}),<ref>{{cite Dictionary.com|banian |access-date=15 March 2016}}</ref> is a [[Ficus|fig]] that develops accessory trunks from [[Aerial root#"Stranglers" (prop-root)|adjacent prop roots]], allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely.<ref name="armstrong">{{cite web |url=https://www2.palomar.edu/users/warmstrong/ploct99.htm |title=Stranglers & Banyans |last=Armstrong |first=Wayne |date=October 1999 |website=Wayne's Word |access-date=26 August 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004090146/https://www2.palomar.edu/users/warmstrong/ploct99.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a [[Strangler Fig|strangler]] habit that begin life as an [[epiphyte]],<ref>{{cite journal |last=Laman |first=Timothy G. |year=1995 |title=The Ecology of Strangler Fig Seedling Establishment |journal=Selbyana |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=223–9 |jstor=41759910}}</ref> i.e. a plant that grows on another plant, when its [[seed]] germinates in a crack or crevice of a host tree or edifice. "Banyan" often specifically denotes ''[[Ficus benghalensis]]'' (the "Indian banyan"), which is the [[national tree]] of India,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.archive.india.gov.in/knowindia/national_symbols.php?id=5 |title=National Tree |website=Know India |publisher=Government of India |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160213035748/http://www.archive.india.gov.in/knowindia/national_symbols.php?id=5 |archive-date=13 February 2016 |access-date=16 January 2012}}</ref> though the name has also been generalized to denominate all figs that share a common life cycle and used [[systematics|systematically]] in [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomy]] to denominate the [[subgenus]] '''''[[Ficus#Subgenus Urostigma|Urostigma]]'''''.<ref>Note the use of "Banyan" versus "banyan" in {{cite journal |last=Athreya |first=Vidya R. |date=July 1997 |title=Nature Watch: Trees with a Difference: The Strangler Figs |url=http://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/reso/002/07/0067-0074 |journal=Resonance |volume=2 |issue=7 |pages=67–74|doi=10.1007/BF02838593 |s2cid=125012527 |url-access=subscription }}; also {{cite web |url=http://depts.washington.edu/tc596jan/samoa/playground/banyans.php?r=n |title=Aerial-Rooting Banyan Trees |website=Natural History Guide To American Samoa |publisher=University of Washington |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070904203747/http://depts.washington.edu/tc596jan/samoa/playground/banyans.php?r=n |archive-date=4 September 2007}}</ref>

==Characteristics==
[[File:Ancient Banyan Tree Near the Law College in FC Compus - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Banyan tree]]
[[File:Ripe Banyan fruits (cropped).jpg|thumb|Ripe banyan fruits]]
Like other fig species, banyans also bear their fruit in the form of a structure called a "[[syconium]]". The syconium of ''Ficus'' species supply shelter and food for [[fig wasp]]s and the trees depend on the fig wasps for pollination.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Xingtan |last2=Wang |first2=Gang |last3=Zhang |first3=Shengcheng |last4=Chen |first4=Shuai |last5=Wang |first5=Yibin |last6=Wen |first6=Ping |last7=Ma |first7=Xiaokai |last8=Shi |first8=Yan |last9=Qi |first9=Rui |last10=Yang |first10=Yang |last11=Liao |first11=Zhenyang |last12=Lin |first12=Jing |last13=Lin |first13=Jishan |last14=Xu |first14=Xiuming |last15=Chen |first15=Xuequn |date=12 November 2020 |title=Genomes of the Banyan Tree and Pollinator Wasp Provide Insights into Fig-Wasp Coevolution |journal=Cell |volume=183 |issue=4 |pages=875–889.e17 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2020.09.043 |issn=1097-4172 |pmid=33035453|doi-access=free }}</ref>

[[Frugivore]] birds disperse the seeds of banyans. The seeds are small, and because most banyans grow in [[woodland]]s, 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 fig|strangler]]" habit, which banyans share with a number of other tropical ''Ficus'' species, as well as some other unrelated genera such as ''[[Clusia]]'' and ''[[Metrosideros]]''.<ref name="armstrong"/><ref>{{cite book |author1=Zhou Zhekun |last2=Gilbert |first2=Michael G. |date=2003 |chapter=Moraceae |editor1=Zhengyi Wu |editor-last2=Raven |editor-first2=Peter H. |editor3=Deyuan Hong |title=Flora of China |chapter-url=http://hua.huh.harvard.edu/china/mss/volume05/Moraceae.pdf |volume=5 |pages=21–73 |publisher=Science Press |isbn=978-1-930723-27-6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901100148/http://hua.huh.harvard.edu/china/mss/volume05/Moraceae.pdf |archive-date=1 September 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Serventy |first=Vincent |date=1984 |title=Australian Native Plants |location=Frenchs Forest, NSW |publisher=Reed |isbn=978-0-7301-0020-1}}</ref>{{page needed|date=January 2017}}<ref>{{cite magazine |year=1992 |title=Light in the Rainforest |url=http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/register/p00820ar.pdf |magazine=Tropical Topics |volume=1 |issue=5 |publisher=Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage |page=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090529233702/http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/register/p00820ar.pdf |archive-date=29 May 2009}}</ref>

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.<ref name="The Lovely Plants">{{cite web|url=http://www.thelovelyplants.com/the-banyan-tree/|title=The Banyan Tree|date=14 September 2010|website=The Lovely Plants|archive-date=16 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190316230231/http://www.thelovelyplants.com/the-banyan-tree/}}</ref>

Older banyan trees are characterized by [[Aerial root|aerial 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.<ref>{{ cite book | last1= Allen | first1= Richard | last2= Baker | first2= Kimbal |year= 2009 | title= Australia's Remarkable Trees | location= Melbourne | publisher= Miegunyah Press | page= 100}}</ref> Such prop roots can be sixty feet (eighteen meters) in height.<ref>Florist and Pomologist, (February 1867) page  37</ref><ref>The Garden (London),Volume 3 (8 February 1873) page 115</ref>  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 the [[Hierarchical#Degree of branching|hierarchical]] computer network operating system "[[Banyan VINES]]".<ref>{{cite book | last1=West | first1=David | last2=Hobbs | first2=Kevin | title=The Story of Trees: And How They Changed the Way We Live | publisher=[[Laurence King Publishing]] | year=2020 | isbn=978-1-78627-789-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hK4gEAAAQBAJ | access-date=2024-05-16 | chapter=Banyan: Home to the Lac}}</ref>

[[File:Strangler fig inside.jpg|thumb|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|date=June 2023}}

From research, it is known that the longevity of banyan tree is due to multiple signs of adaptive (MSA) evolution of genes.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Prasad |first=R. |date=17 December 2022 |title=Genes responsible for long lifespan of banyan, peepal trees identified |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/genes-responsible-for-long-lifespan-of-banyan-peepal-trees-identified/article66271053.ece |access-date=28 December 2022 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The name was originally given to ''F. benghalensis'' and comes from India, where early European travelers observed that the shade of the tree was frequented by ''Banyans'' (a corruption of Baniyas, a community of Indian traders).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Yule |first1=Henry |last2=Burnell |first2=Arthur Coke |date=1903 |editor-last=Crooke |editor-first=William |title=Hobson-Jobson: A glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive |url=https://archive.org/stream/hobsonjobsonagl02croogoog#page/n116/mode/1up |edition=New |location=London |publisher=J. Murray |page=65}}</ref>

==Classification==
The original banyan, ''F. benghalensis'', can grow into a giant tree covering several hectares. Over time, the name became generalized to all [[strangler fig]]s of the ''Urostigma'' subgenus.  The many banyan species also include:
* ''[[Ficus microcarpa]]'', which is native to [[Pakistan]], [[India]], [[Nepal]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[China]], [[Taiwan]], [[Southeast Asia]], [[New Guinea]], [[Australia]], [[Ryukyu Islands]] and [[New Caledonia]], is a significant invasive species elsewhere.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ficus microcarpa L.f. {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science |url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:853217-1 |website=Plants of the World Online |access-date=9 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
* The Central American banyan (''[[Ficus pertusa]]'') is native to Central America and northern South America, from southern Mexico south to [[Paraguay]].{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}
* The shortleaf fig (''[[Ficus citrifolia]]'') is native to [[South Florida]], the [[Caribbean]] islands, Central America, and South America south to Paraguay.  One theory is that the Portuguese name for ''F. citrofolia'', ''os barbados'', gave [[Barbados]] its name.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}
* 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|date=June 2023}}
* The Moreton Bay fig (''[[Ficus macrophylla]]'') and [[Port Jackson fig]] (''Ficus rubiginosa'') are other related species.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}
<!-- Infobox contained the following, not all of which are ''Urostigma'':
* ''[[Ficus americana|F. americana]]''
* ''[[Ficus aurea|F. aurea]]''
* ''[[Ficus benghalensis|F. benghalensis]]''
* ''[[Ficus citrifolia|F. citrifolia]]''
* ''[[Ficus elastica|F. elastica]]''
* ''[[Ficus macrophylla|F. macrophylla]]''
* ''[[Ficus microcarpa|F. microcarpa]]''
* ''[[Ficus pertusa|F. pertusa]]''
* ''[[Ficus religiosa|F. religiosa]]''
* ''[[Ficus retusa|F. retusa]]''
* ''[[Ficus rubiginosa|F. rubiginosa]]''
* ''[[Ficus tinctoria|F. tinctoria]]''
-->

==In horticulture==
Due to the complex structure of the roots and extensive branching, the banyan is used as a subject specimen in [[penjing]] and [[bonsai]]. The oldest living bonsai in [[Taiwan]] is a 240-year-old banyan tree housed in [[Tainan]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Small Is the Old Big |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2005/09/22/2003272719 |newspaper=Taipei Times |date=22 September 2005}}</ref>

==In culture==

===Religion and mythology===
Banyan trees figure prominently in several Asian and Pacific religions and myths, including the following:
*  [[Vat Purnima]] is a [[List of Hindu festivals|Hindu festival]] related to the banyan tree. Vat Purnima is observed by married women in [[North India]] and in the Western Indian states of [[Maharashtra]], [[Goa]], [[Gujarat]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kerkar|first=Rajendra P|date=7 June 2009|title=Vat-Pournima: Worship of the banyan tree|work=The Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Vat-Pournima-Worship-of-the-banyan-tree/articleshow/4625988.cms|access-date=18 July 2021}}</ref> During the three days of the month of [[Jyeshtha (month)|Jyeshtha]] in the [[Hindu calendar]] (which falls in May–June in the [[Gregorian calendar]]) married women observe a fast and tie threads around a banyan tree and pray for the well-being of their husbands.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2 June 2015|title=Mumbai: Women celebrate Vat Purnima at Jogeshwari station|work=Mid Day|url=https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/Mumbai--Women-celebrate-Vat-Purnima-at-Jogeshwari-station-16259170|access-date=18 July 2021}}</ref>
* In [[Buddhism]]'s [[Pali canon]], the banyan (Pali: ''nigrodha'')<ref>{{cite book |date=1921–1925 |editor-last1=Rhys Davids |editor-first1=T. W. |editor-link1=T.W. Rhys Davids |editor-last2=Stede |editor-first2=William |title=The Pali Text Society's Pali-English dictionary |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/pali_query.py?qs=nigrodha&searchhws=yes&matchtype=exact |location=Chipstead |publisher=Pali Text Society |page=355, entry "Nigrodha," |access-date=22 November 2008}}</ref> is referenced numerous times.<ref>See, for instance, the automated search of the SLTP ed. of the Pali Canon for the root "nigrodh" which results in 243 matches {{cite web |url=http://www.bodhgayanews.net/pitakaresults.php?title=&start=0&to=10&searchstring=Nigrodh |title=Search term 'Nigrodh' found in 243 pages in all documents |website=Bodhgayanews.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202012916/http://www.bodhgayanews.net/pitakaresults.php?title=&start=0&to=10&searchstring=Nigrodh |archive-date=2 December 2008 |access-date=22 November 2008}}</ref> Typical metaphors allude to the banyan's [[Epiphyte|epiphytic]] nature, likening the banyan's supplanting of a host tree as comparable to the way sensual desire (''[[kāma]]'') overcomes humans.<ref>See, e.g., [[Samyutta Nikaya|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, [[Sutta Nipata|Sn]] 2.5 v. 271 or 272 ([[Viggo Fausböll|Fausböll]], 1881, [http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/sbe10/sbe1034.htm p. 46]).</ref>
* In [[Guam]], the [[Chamorro people]] believe in tales of ''[[taotaomona]]'', [[duende (mythology)|''duende''s]], and other spirits.'' Taotaomona'' are spirits of the ancient Chamorro that act as guardians to banyan trees.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ghost stories: Taotaomona, duendes and other spirits inhabit Guam |newspaper=Pacific Daily News |location=Guam |date=28 October 2007}}</ref>
* In Vietnamese mythology of the [[Mid-Autumn Festival]], the [[Lunar pareidolia|dark markings]] on the Moon are a banyan, a magical tree originally planted by [[Man in the Moon|a 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 the [[Chang'e|Moon Lady]] and the [[Moon Rabbit|Jade Rabbit]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vietnam.com/en/culture/art/fairy-tales/chu-cuoi-or-the-man-in-the-moon.html|title=Chú Cuội or The Man in the Moon|website=VIETNAM.COM}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vietnam.travel/things-to-do/vietnams-magical-mid-autumn-festival|title=Vietnam's magical Mid-autumn Festival|website=Vietnam Tourism}}</ref>
* In the [[Philippines]], they are usually referred to as [[balete tree]]s, which are home to certain deities and spirits.<ref>Mellie Leandicho Lopez (2006). A Handbook of Philippine Folklore. University of the Philippines Press.</ref>
* In [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]], the tree is referred to as gajumaru, which, according to traditional folklore, is the home for the mythical [[Kijimuna]].{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

===Notable banyan trees===
* [[Thimmamma Marrimanu]] is a banyan tree in [[Anantapur]], located circa {{convert|35|km}} from the town of Kadiri in the state of [[Andhra 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. Its [[canopy (biology)|canopy]] covers {{convert|21000|m2|ha|abbr=on}} <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/thimmamma-marrimanu|title=The World's Largest Banyan Tree|website=Atlas Obscura|language=en|access-date=2 August 2019}}</ref>
* One of the largest trees, [[the Great Banyan]] is found in [[Kolkata]], India. Its canopy covers {{convert|4.67|acres}}{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}
* Another such tree, [[Dodda Aalada Mara]] as in "Big Banyan Tree", is found in the village of Ramohalli, on the outskirts of [[Bangalore]], India; it has a spread of circa 2.5 acres.<ref name="clark"/>
* The [[Iolani Palace]] banyans in [[Honolulu]], Hawaii.  In the 1880s [[Queen Kapiolani]] planted two banyan trees within the [[Iolani Palace]] grounds. These trees have since grown into large groupings of trees on the old historic palace grounds.<ref>[http://www.honolulumagazine.com/Honolulu-Magazine/October-2015/Friday-Frights-The-Ghosts-Who-Haunt-Iolani-Palace/ Friday Frights: The Ghosts Who Haunt Hawai'i's Historic 'Iolani Palace] Honolulu Magazine. By Diane Lee.  6 October 2017.  Downloaded 22 September 2018.</ref>
* [[Maui]], Hawaii has the [[Banyan tree in Lahaina]] planted by [[William Owen Smith]] on 24 April 1873, in [[Lahaina Banyan Court Park|Lahaina's Courthouse Square]] to mark the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first American Protestant mission. In 2023, it had grown to cover two-thirds of an acre,<ref name="clark">{{cite book |author= John R. K. Clark |title= Hawai'i place names: shores, beaches, and surf sites |publisher= [[University of Hawaii Press]] |year= 2001 |isbn= 978-0-8248-2451-8 |page= 23 |url= http://www.ulukau.org/elib/cgi-bin/library?c=cpn&l=en }}</ref>  but the tree was damaged by the [[2023 Hawaii wildfires]] from 8–9 August which also severely damaged the town of [[Lahaina]], and roughly half its former canopy survived the fire.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Anguiano |first1=Dani |title='Heartbeat of Lahaina Town': wildfire chars beloved 150-year-old banyan tree |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/10/lahaina-banyan-tree-burned-hawaii-wildfire |access-date=14 August 2023 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=10 August 2023}}</ref>
* One large banyan tree, Kalpabata, is inside the premises of [[Jagannath Temple, Puri|Jagannath Temple]] in [[Puri]]. It is considered sacred by the devotees and is supposed to be more than 500 years old.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.shreekhetra.com/sriinner.html|title=Attractions of Jagannath Temple, Temples inside Jagannath Temple, Bedha Parikrama|website=shreekhetra.com}}</ref>
* A large banyan tree lives in [[Cypress Gardens]], at the Legoland theme park located in Winter Haven, Florida. It was planted in 1939 in a 5-gallon bucket.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thevacationgals.com/legoland-florida-the-belle-of-theme-parks/|title=LEGOLAND Florida The Belle of Theme Parks|date=20 October 2011|access-date=15 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827210506/http://thevacationgals.com/legoland-florida-the-belle-of-theme-parks/|archive-date=27 August 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [https://www.ts-adyar.org/content/banyan-tree Adayar Banyan Tree], located in the Theosophical Society Campus in Adayar, Chennai, India, is around 450 years old.
* The banyan tree from [[Miary]], Madagascar which is said to be 1,700 years old.<ref>Heiko Hooge: ''Madagaskar'', p. 110. Ostfildern 2023</ref>

===Other===
* The banyan tree is depicted in the [[coat of arms of Indonesia]] as a manifestation of the third principle of [[Pancasila (politics)|Pancasila]] (the unity of all of Indonesia). It is also used in the emblem of [[Golkar]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tawakal |first=Ikbal |title=Kenapa Partai Golkar Lambangnya Pohon Beringin? Ini Filosofi dan Maknanya |url=https://www.pikiran-rakyat.com/entertainment/pr-017638855/kenapa-partai-golkar-lambangnya-pohon-beringin-ini-filosofi-dan-maknanya?page=all |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.Pikiran-Rakyat.com |language=id}}</ref>
* ''[[The Economist]] ''magazine features an opinion column covering topics pertaining to Asia named "Banyan".<ref>{{cite magazine |title=In the shade of the banyan tree |url=http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13446191 |magazine=The Economist |date=8 April 2009 }}</ref>
* In southern [[Vanuatu]], the clearings under banyan trees are used as [[Nakamal|traditional meeting places]]. The quarterly newsletter of the British Friends of Vanuatu Society is named ''Nabanga'', after the local word for banyan.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.british-friends-of-vanuatu.com/ |title=Home Page |access-date=31 August 2014 |archive-date=8 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708094701/http://www.british-friends-of-vanuatu.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* ''The Banyan Tree'' is a notoriously difficult room in the 1984 [[ZX Spectrum]] [[platform game]] ''[[Jet Set Willy]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.crashonline.org.uk/04/jetset.htm|title=CRASH 4 - Jet Set Willy|website=crashonline.org.uk}}</ref>
* The Foggy Swamp in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' consists of a single banyan grove tree.<ref name="ATLA">{{cite episode|title=The Swamp|episode-link=The Swamp (Avatar: The Last Airbender episode)|series=Avatar: The Last Airbender|series-link=Avatar: The Last Airbender|season=2|number=4|date=14 April 2006|author-first=Tim|author-last=Hedrick|author-first2=Giancarlo|author-last2=Volpe}}</ref>
* The title track from [[Steely Dan]]'s 1977 album [[Aja (album)|Aja]] contains the lyric "Chinese music under banyan trees, here at the dude ranch, above the sea."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lyrics {{!}} Aja |url=https://sdarchive.com/lyraja.html#track2 |access-date=11 August 2023 |website=sdarchive.com}}</ref>
* On 13 December 2021, [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP) general secretary [[Xi Jinping]] personally intervened to punish and demote 10 CCP officials in [[Guangzhou]] after they cut down or uprooted thousands of banyan trees.<ref>{{Cite news|date=13 December 2021|title=China's Xi Intervenes to Punish Local Officials for Killing Trees|work=[[Bloomberg News]]|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-13/china-s-xi-intervenes-after-mass-tree-killing-mars-green-agenda?sref=4C6JiyVg|access-date=18 December 2021}}</ref>
* 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hugill |first=Stan |title=Shanties and Sailors' Songs |publisher=Herbert Jenkins Ltd |year=1969 |isbn=0257657681 |pages=44}}</ref>
* The banyan inspired the [[Science fiction|science-fiction]] british author [[Brian Aldiss]] to create the world-sized Banyan Tree depicted in his novel [[Hothouse (novel)|Hothouse]].

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Strangler fig kerala.jpg|Early stages of a strangler fig on a host tree in the [[Western Ghats]], India
File:Vat Purnima image by Raju Kasambe DSCN6393 07.jpg|During [[Vat Purnima]] festival, married women tying threads around a banyan tree.
Image:Sarkaradevi Temple Ficus Tree.jpg|Ficus tree in front of [[Sarkaradevi Temple]], [[Kerala]], India.
File:The great banyan tree.jpg|[[The Great Banyan]] in [[Kolkata]], India.
File:Thimmamma-marrimanu 1.jpg|Thimmamma Marrimanu
Image:Coat of Arms of Indonesia Garuda Pancasila.svg|The [[coat of arms of Indonesia]] depicts a banyan tree.
File:Var Gachhi, Chaudhary Pokhair, Basuki Bihari North.jpg|In [[Mithila (region)|Mithila region]], Banyan tree is called ''Var Gachhi''. The photo is taken at the bank of Chaudhary Pokhair in the campus of [[Basuki Nath Mahadev Mandir]].
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Bodhi Tree]]
* [[Midh Ranjha#Biggest Banyan Tree of Pakistan|Midh Ranjha tree]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Commons category|Banyans}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070518225344/http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ploct99.htm Stranglers and Banyans], palomar.edu
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080827194931/http://plantcultures.org.uk/plants/banyan_landing.html Plant Cultures: Banyan tree history and botany], plantcultures.org.uk

{{Worship in Hinduism}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q465570}}

[[Category:Ficus| ]]
[[Category:Sacred trees in Hinduism]]
[[Category:Trees in Buddhism]]
[[Category:Epiphytes]]
[[Category:National symbols of India]]
[[Category:Plant common names]]