Sacred fig
Ficus religiosa or the sacred fig is a species of fig on the Indian subcontinent and Indochina.[1] It belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as the bodhi tree,[2] pippala tree, peepul tree,[1] peepal tree or ashwattha tree (in India and Nepal).[3]
| Sacred fig | |
|---|---|
| |
| Leaves and trunk, showing the distinctive heart-shaped leaf | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Unrecognized taxon (fix): | Ficeae |
| Genus: | Ficus |
| Species: | F. religiosa
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| Binomial name | |
| Ficus religiosa | |
The sacred fig is considered to have a religious significance in three major religions of the Indian subcontinent: Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. It is the type of tree under which Gautama Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment. Hindu and Jain ascetics also consider the tree to be sacred and often meditate under them.
It begins life as an epiphyte, and eventually surrounds and outlives its host tree.[4] The kind of growth is like dozens of vertical trunks stuck together. In the middle may be a space where the original tree of another species once grew.
Sacred Fig Media
Nature printed leaf, showing shape and venation
The Bodhi Tree at the Mahabodhi Temple was propagated from the Sri Maha Bodhi, which in turn was propagated from the original Bodhi Tree at this location.
Ficus religiosa taken in early winter
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1
"Peepul". Encyclopædia Britannica (Eleventh) 21. (1911). Cambridge University Press.
- ↑ Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 1971, p. 1014
- ↑ "Ficus religiosa — Peepal". Flowers of India. Archived from the original on February 14, 2012. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
- ↑ Stephen Forbes 2016. The oldest historical tree in the world. medium.com. Medium. Retrieved 23 July 2018. [1]
