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Ficus macrophylla
The name banyan was originally given to Ficus benghalensis and comes from India where early travellers observed that the shade of the tree was frequented by banias or Indian traders. In the Gujarati language, banya means "grocer/merchant," not "tree." The Portuguese picked up the word to refer specifically to Hindu merchants and passed it along to the English as early as 1599 with the same meaning. By 1634, English writers began to tell of the banyan tree, a tree under which Hindu merchants would conduct their business. The tree provided a shaded place for a village meeting or for merchants to sell their goods. Eventually "banyan" became the name of the tree itself.
This variety is known as the Morton Bay fig.
Spotted on Dec 20, 2009
Submitted on Aug 20, 2011
5 Comments
I think you may be right as the photos I googled of f. citrifolia did have aerial roots. Thanks for the advice - I will change my info.
I think Ficus species are abundant in tropical areas. In Florida we have many non-native Ficus species that have naturalized. The reason I asked is that F.citrifolia appears to be a species that produces many aerial roots and multiple trunks. The Moreton Bay Fig is noted for it's buttressed root system. I'm not really familiar with F. citrifolia, though.
Not entirely ceherzog but I'm assuming it is the species indigenous to South America which is F. citrifolia as it is planted widely in Buenos Aires. I could be wrong though!
The one we have at Selby is the Moreton Bay Fig, Ficus macrophylla
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moreton_Bay...
Karen, are you sure about the ID?
Thanks for the interesting information. We have trees like this at Selby Gardens. They are so neat.