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Urostigma
A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a Ficus, fig that develops accessory trunks from Aerial_root#"Stranglers"_(prop-root), adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a Strangler Fig, strangler habit that begin life as an epiphyte, 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, 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''. Characteristics Like other fig species, banyans bear their fruit in the form of a structure called a "syconium". The syconium of ''Ficus'' species supply shelter and food for fig wasps and the trees depend on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ficus Benghalensis
''Ficus benghalensis'', commonly known as the banyan, banyan fig and Indian banyan, is a tree native to the Indian Subcontinent. Specimens in India are among the largest trees in the world by canopy coverage. It also known as the " strangler fig" because it starts out as epiphyte, that is, leaning on another tree that it ends up suffocating. Description ''Ficus benghalensis'' is an evergreen, fast-growing tree found mainly in monsoon and rainforests, that can reach a height of up to 30 meters. It is resistant to drought and mild frost. It produces propagating roots which grow downwards as aerial roots on the branches that grow downward like lianas. Once these roots reach the ground, they take root and become woody trunks and supportive. The figs produced by the tree are eaten by birds such as the Indian myna. Fig seeds that pass through the digestive system of birds are more likely to germinate and sprout earlier. Reproduction Banyan trees reproduce easily by seed or by s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ficus
''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The common fig (''F. carica'') is a temperate species native to southwest Asia and the Mediterranean region (from Afghanistan to Portugal), which has been widely cultivated from ancient times for its fruit, also referred to as figs. The fruit of most other species are also edible though they are usually of only local economic importance or eaten as bushfood. However, they are extremely important food resources for wildlife. Figs are also of considerable cultural importance throughout the tropics, both as objects of worship and for their many practical uses. Description ''Ficus'' is a pantropical genus of trees, shrubs, and vines occupying a wide variety of ecological niches; most are evergreen, bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ficus Microcarpa
''Ficus microcarpa'', also known as Chinese banyan, Malayan banyan, Indian laurel, curtain fig, or , is a tree in the fig family Moraceae. It is native in a range from China through tropical Asia and the Caroline Islands to Australia. It is widely planted as a shade tree and frequently misidentified as ''F. retusa'' or as ''F. nitida'' (syn. ''F. benjamina''). Taxonomy ''Ficus microcarpa'' was described in 1782 by Carl Linnaeus the Younger. The species has a considerable number of synonyms. In 1965, E. J. H. Corner described seven varieties (and two forms of ''Ficus microcarpa'' var. ''microcarpa'') pages 22–23 which were regarded as synonyms under the name of ''Ficus microcarpa'' in the latest Flora Malesiana volume. Hill's weeping fig was first formally described as a species, ''Ficus hillii'', by Frederick Manson Bailey in the ''Botany Bulletin'' of the Queensland Department of Agriculture, based on the type specimen collected in the "scrubs of tropical Queensland'". In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aerial Root
Aerial roots are roots above the ground. They are almost always adventitious. They are found in diverse plant species, including epiphytes such as orchids (''Orchidaceae''), tropical coastal swamp trees such as mangroves, banyan figs ('' Ficus subg. Urostigma''), the warm-temperate rainforest rata (''Metrosideros robusta''), and pohutukawa trees of New Zealand (''Metrosideros excelsa''). Vines such as common ivy (''Hedera helix'') and poison ivy (''Toxicodendron radicans'') also have aerial roots. Types of aerial roots This plant organ that is found in so many diverse plant-families has different specializations that suit the plant-habitat. In general growth-form, they can be technically classed as '' negatively gravitropic'' (grows up and away from the ground) or ''positively gravitropic'' (grows down toward the ground). "Stranglers" (prop-root) Banyan trees are an example of a strangler fig that begins life as an epiphyte in the crown of another tree. Their roots grow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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