• Family : MORACEAE
  (Mulberry Or Fig Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : ANJEER FAMILY (अंजीर फैमिली)
• Family (as per The APG System III) : Moraceae
• Synonym(s) : Ficus banyana Oken; Ficus cotoneifolia Vahl; Ficus cotonifolia Stokes; Ficus crassinervia Kunth & C.D.Bouché; Ficus indica L.; Ficus karet Baill.; Ficus lancifolia Moench; Ficus lasiophylla Link; Ficus procera Salisb.; Ficus pubescens B.Heyne ex Roth; Ficus umbrosa Salisb.; Perula benghalensis (L.) Raf.; Urostigma bengalense (L.) Gasp.
• Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Ficus benghalensis L.
• Common name : Banyan Tree
• Vernacular name :
  • Bat, Bargad (Hindi)
  • Aladamara, Goli mara (Kannada)
  • Aalamaram (Tamil)
  • Vata (Sanskrit)
  • Wad (Marathi)
  • Alamaram, Peraal, Aal, Nyagrodham, Vadavriksham (Malayalam)
  • Baro (Oria)
  • Vargaf, Bargat (Hindi)
  • Marvi, Pedda marri (Telugu)
• Habit : Tree
• Habitat : Tropical dry deciduous forests, also in the plains
• Comments / notes : Often on plains to 1000m. Planted as sacred tree. Stem deeply rooted and buttressed
• Flower, Fruit : Throughout the year
• Collector(s) Name : Cecil J. Saldanha
• Collection Date : 14/01/1969
• Collection Nos : CJS 12154
• Collection Locality : Bourdalboore forest, Hassan district
• Distribution :
  • Andhra Pradesh : Andhra Pradesh
  • Karnataka : Hassan district, Bengaluru district, Kodagu (Coorg) district, Udupi district, Davanagare district, Dakshina Kannada district, Kalaburagi (Gulbarga) district, Mysuru district
  • Kerala : Kerala
  • Maharashtra : Satara district, Thane district
  • Odisha : Odisha
  • Tamil Nadu : Tamil Nadu
  • Jharkhand :
  • Madhya Pradesh : Hoshangabad district
  • Sikkim : Sikkim
  • Arunachal Pradesh : Arunachal Pradesh
  • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
  • Assam : Assam
  • Nagaland : Nagaland
  • Delhi : Delhi
  • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
  • Punjab : Punjab
  • Rajasthan : Jaisalmer district, Barmer district, Bikaner district, Jodhpur district
  • Mizoram : Mizoram
  • Andaman and Nicobar Islands : Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  • Manipur : Manipur
  • Tripura : Tripura
  • Lakshadweep : Lakshadweep
• Native : Andaman Islands, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Lakshadweep Islands, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
• Exotic/Native : Native
• World Distribution : Andaman Islands, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Lakshadweep Islands, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
• Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
• Literature :
  • J.L.Ellis, 1990- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 2
  • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1995- Flora of Orissa Vol. 3
  • R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District
  • R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District
  • H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipahar (Similipal), Orissa
  • N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka
  • Matthew, K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (2). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
  • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI
  • Saldanha & Nicolson, 1976 – Flora of Hassan district
  • Cecil J. Saldanha, S. R. Ramesh (1984). Flora of Karnataka State vol. 1. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co, New Delhi
  • Ramaswamy & Razi, 1973 – Flora of Bangalore district
  • Seetharam et al., 2000 – Flora of Gulbarga district
  • Rao & Razi, 1981 – A Synoptic Flora of Mysore
  • Keshava Murthy & Yoganarasimhan, 1990 – Flora of Coorg district
  • Gopalakrishna Bhat, 2003 – Flora of Udupi district
  • Manjunath et al., 2003 – Flora of Davanagere District
  • Gopalakrishna Bhat, 2014 - Flora of South Kanara
  • Kamble & Pradhan, 1988. Flora of Akola District, Maharashtra. Botanical Survey of India
  • Parkinson, C.E. 1923. A Forest Flora of the Andaman Islands, Govt. of India, Shimla: 250
  • Indigenous Plants at Biodiversity Park, Ranchi - Ranchi Afforestation Division, Forest and Environmental Department, Jharkhand
• Read more :
  • Plants of the World Online
  • World Flora Online
  • Global Plants on JSTOR
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Ficus benghalensis. Downloaded on 2 April 2025.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

Habitat

India Distribution

World Distribution