the.com/banyan
a single tree pretending to be a forest, and getting away with it
means A type of fig tree that drops aerial roots from its branches, which thicken into trunk-like pillars, letting one tree spread into a vast grove-sized canopy.
from From Gujarati 'vāṇiyo,' meaning a trader or merchant, via Portuguese 'banian.' European travelers in India saw Hindu merchants gathering and trading in the shade of these huge spreading figs — so they named the tree after the people beneath it, not the other way around. The merchant lent his name to his favorite shade.
- one tree, many trunks
- Drops aerial roots that thicken into new trunks
- record holder
- One in India shades over 4 acres
- strangler kin
- Often starts life choking another tree to death
- india's pride
- The official national tree of India
- name origin
- Named after banias, merchants who traded in its shade
great banyan tree — in kolkata, india; 250+ years old with 2,880 aerial roots, world's largest tree by canopy area
thimmamma marrimanu — in andhra pradesh, india; single banyan tree with 4,500+ aerial roots, occupies 4.7 acres
banyan court ficus — in lahaina, maui, hawaii; planted 1873, covers 1.94 acres, largest tree in usa by canopy spread