15-487: Pillalamarri (Children's Banyan) or Peerlamarri (Saints Banyan) is an 800-year-old banyan tree located in Mahabubnagar , Telangana , India . The tree is spread over 4 acres. It is a major tourist attraction located 4 kilometers from Mahbubnagar city. The sightseeing is partially closed as of November, 2018 because of the treatment being carried out for the plant. Viewing of the tree can only be done from outside
30-444: A 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 systematically in taxonomy to denominate
45-416: A location in Mahabubnagar district , Telangana is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Banyan See Ficus § Subgenus Urostigma . A banyan , also spelled banian ( / ˈ b æ n j ən / BAN -yən ), is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adjacent prop roots , allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with
60-535: A subject specimen in penjing and bonsai . The oldest living bonsai in Taiwan is a 240-year-old banyan tree housed in Tainan . Banyan trees figure prominently in several Asian and Pacific religions and myths, including: Strangler fig Strangler fig is the common name for a number of tropical and subtropical plant species in the genus Ficus , including those that are commonly known as banyans . Some of
75-530: 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 computer network operating system " Banyan VINES ". 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
90-459: Is currently in a delicate state of health. Apparently suffering from pest infestation and lack of water. The tree is under quarantine. The Pillalamarri Tourism Centre on the site has a science museum which houses some of the artifacts found in the Palamuru region. There is a small nursery and a deer park around the great tree, and some movies' scenes are shot there. This article about
105-409: The subgenus Urostigma . 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 the fig wasps for pollination. Frugivore birds disperse the seeds of banyans. The seeds are small, and because most banyans grow in woodlands , a seedling that germinates on
120-405: The banyan becomes a "columnar tree" with a hollow, central core. In jungles, such hollows are very desirable shelters to many animals. From research, it is known that the longevity of banyan tree is due to multiple signs of adaptive (MSA) evolution of genes. The name was originally given to F. benghalensis and comes from India, where early European travelers observed that the shade of the tree
135-689: 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. Older banyan trees are characterized by 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. Such prop roots can be sixty feet (eighteen meters) in height. Old trees can spread laterally by using these prop roots to grow over
150-423: The fence, going inside is closed. The tree is known to be in existence since 1200 CE. It had original main trunk and many prop roots which resemble like many trunks, like its children, hence the name. Main trunk either died out or cannot be recognized among many prop roots, It is spread over three acres of land. There are tombs of two Muslim Sufi saints, Jamal Hussain and Kamal Hussain in the vicinity. Some believe
165-471: 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 " habit, which banyans share with a number of other tropical Ficus species, as well as some other unrelated genera such as Clusia and Metrosideros . The leaves of
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#1732782425952180-475: The more well-known species are: These all share a common "strangling" growth habit that is found in many tropical forest species. This growth habit is an adaptation for growing in dark forests where the competition for light is intense. These plants are hemiepiphytes , spending the first part of their life without rooting into the ground. Their seeds, often bird-dispersed, germinate in crevices atop other trees. These seedlings grow their roots downward and envelop
195-528: The state archaeology department dismantled the temple and moved it to the Pillalamarri complex in 1981. In 1983, the temple was reconstructed on a new foundation. It was originally built in the 16th Century in an architectural style distinct to the Vijayanagara dynasty that ruled in the area. In 2003, it was announced that there would be a special cover to commemorate the tree. This ancient tree
210-533: The tombs are under the tree, but the shrine is at a slight distance from the tree and there is a separate entrance to it. There is also a beautifully reconstructed Sri Rajarajeswara temple on the premises. The temple was transplanted here from Erladinne (erula dinne) on the left bank of the Krishna river . A board there says the village was about to be submerged during construction of the Srisailam reservoir when
225-460: Was frequented by Banyans (a corruption of Baniyas, a community of Indian traders). The original banyan, F. benghalensis , can grow into a giant tree covering several hectares. Over time, the name became generalized to all strangler figs of the Urostigma subgenus. The many banyan species also include: Due to the complex structure of the roots and extensive branching, the banyan is used as
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