what is a banian
This article cites its sources but its page references ranges are too broad. (January 2017) A banyan, also spelled banian, is a fig that begins its 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 human edifice. Banyan often specifically denominates Ficus benghalensis, which is the national tree of the Republic 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 the subgenus Urostigma.