WEBVTT - How Do Banyan Trees Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff Lauren Vogelbam.

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<v Speaker 1>Here in Kolkata, the capital of the Indian state of

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<v Speaker 1>West Bengal, tourists flock to a botanical garden to see what,

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<v Speaker 1>at first glance, looks like an expansive forest. Branches of

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<v Speaker 1>green leaves create a canopy about the size of a

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<v Speaker 1>Manhattan city block. But the most interesting thing about this

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<v Speaker 1>collection of plant life is that it's not a collection

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<v Speaker 1>at all. It's one massive tree, known simply as the

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<v Speaker 1>Great Banyan tree, and all of those apparently distinct members

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<v Speaker 1>of a forest are actually one of about three thousand,

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<v Speaker 1>six hundred aerial roots that this single organism has put

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<v Speaker 1>down over its two hundred and fifty years of life.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're wondering how in the world one tree could

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<v Speaker 1>cover some fourteen thousand, five hundred square feet of space

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<v Speaker 1>that's about three hundred and fifty square meters, and grow

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<v Speaker 1>branches as high as eight feet that's twenty five meters

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<v Speaker 1>and survive over two and a half centuries, it's time

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<v Speaker 1>to get to know a special group of trees known

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<v Speaker 1>as banyans. Abanyons are part of the Picus or fig genus,

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<v Speaker 1>and their history is rooted unintended in South Asia. Originally

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<v Speaker 1>the name only referred to a single species, a Ficus bengalensis,

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<v Speaker 1>named for the Hindu merchants and traders who conducted their

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<v Speaker 1>business under the trees canopies. In these days, the name

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<v Speaker 1>can refer to a number of species that fall under

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<v Speaker 1>the not at all threatening sounding category of strangler figs.

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<v Speaker 1>This means the trees grow from seeds that land on

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<v Speaker 1>other trees, growing their own vines up and sending their

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<v Speaker 1>own roots down to smother their hosts. Before the article,

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<v Speaker 1>this episode is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke via

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<v Speaker 1>email with Aaron Alvarez and Bart Schitzman, both lectures in

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<v Speaker 1>the Environmental Horticulture department at the University of Florida. They

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<v Speaker 1>explained these plants all start life as a seed that

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<v Speaker 1>germinates on another tree, grows as a vine, dependent on

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<v Speaker 1>the tree for support, and eventually strangles its host tree,

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<v Speaker 1>subsuming its structure. Later, roots grow from outward extending branches

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<v Speaker 1>and reach the ground, becoming trunk like and expanding the

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<v Speaker 1>footprint of the tree, sometimes gaining it in the colloquial

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<v Speaker 1>name of a walking tree. While Kolkatta's Great Banyon is

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<v Speaker 1>by far the greatest of them all. A Banyons as

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<v Speaker 1>a species dominate size wise, at least in broadness. They're

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<v Speaker 1>the world's biggest trees in terms of the area they cover.

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<v Speaker 1>When it comes to overall volume, however, they lose to

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<v Speaker 1>the giant Sequoia. We've talked on the show before about

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<v Speaker 1>the two thousand year old tree named General Sherman living

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<v Speaker 1>in California's Sequoia National Park. That's about fifty two thousand,

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<v Speaker 1>five hundred cubic feet and volume or about one thousand,

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<v Speaker 1>five hundred cubic meters. The banyan is considered a particularly

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<v Speaker 1>meaningful tree in cultures around India and other parts of

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<v Speaker 1>the world, with rich historical and spiritual ties. In Hinduism,

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<v Speaker 1>the banyan is associated with the god of death, Yama,

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<v Speaker 1>and is often planted near crematoriums outside of villages, and

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<v Speaker 1>stories say that the god Krishna stood beneath the banyan

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<v Speaker 1>tree when he delivered the teachings of the Scripture. The

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<v Speaker 1>Bagavad Gida Hindu texts written over two thousand, five hundred

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<v Speaker 1>years ago, describe a cosmic world tree an upside down

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<v Speaker 1>growing banyan that has roots in heaven and extends new

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<v Speaker 1>growth from trunks and branches down toward earth to deliver blessings.

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<v Speaker 1>Over the centuries, the banyan tree took on significance as

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<v Speaker 1>a symbol of fertility, life, and resurrection. A word got

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<v Speaker 1>around about them, and the poet John Milton wrote about

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<v Speaker 1>Adam and Eve making their first clothes out of banyan

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<v Speaker 1>leaves in his epic Paradise Lost. The banyan has also

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<v Speaker 1>served as a source of medicine and food for centuries,

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<v Speaker 1>and the bark and roots are still used today to

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<v Speaker 1>treat a variety of maladies in Aurvedic medicine. When the

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<v Speaker 1>British invaded India, the tree was twisted to a newly

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<v Speaker 1>dark purpose, often used as gallows to execute rebels who

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<v Speaker 1>resisted their rule. When India gained independence, the people reclaimed

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<v Speaker 1>the banyan as well, making it their national tree. A

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<v Speaker 1>Banyans are native to and thrive in what's now India, Bangladesh,

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<v Speaker 1>and Pakistan, but these days variations of the majestic trees

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<v Speaker 1>can be found in other tropical regions, such as areas

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<v Speaker 1>of Florida. In some places, they've even become invasive. There's

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<v Speaker 1>also one famous species representative on the Hawaiian island of Maui,

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<v Speaker 1>the Lahina banyan tree, planted in eighteen seventy three and

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<v Speaker 1>presented to the sheriff in town by missionaries from India.

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<v Speaker 1>Now forty feet or twelve meters tall, the Lahina banyan

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<v Speaker 1>has a canopy circumference spanning a quarter mile that's about

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<v Speaker 1>four hundred meters. Today's banyans aren't just beautiful and symbolic.

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<v Speaker 1>The species also comes in handy for practical purposes. Alvarez

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<v Speaker 1>and Shutsmen said this ability of tiny picus roots to

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<v Speaker 1>become trunk like structures is used by the people of Megalaya,

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<v Speaker 1>India to create footbridges across streams that become raging rivers

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<v Speaker 1>during the monsoon season. They weave the tiny roots of

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<v Speaker 1>our well known rubber tree another Ficus together to cross

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<v Speaker 1>the streams. They enlarge and form sturdy structures that can

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<v Speaker 1>live five hundred years or more and do not get

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<v Speaker 1>washed away during the storms. However, although you may be

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<v Speaker 1>tempted to grow your very own great banyan tree now

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<v Speaker 1>that you know the unique magic of their aerial roots,

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<v Speaker 1>they need some pretty specific conditions. Alvarez and Shutsmen said

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<v Speaker 1>the best way to care for them is to give

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<v Speaker 1>them plenty of space and warm, wet, humid weather. So

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<v Speaker 1>most banyans don't make very good plants for regular home gardens.

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<v Speaker 1>A few species have adapted to indoor environments and can

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<v Speaker 1>be grown in bright in direct light with regular watering. However,

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<v Speaker 1>they are not as long long lived as their relatives

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<v Speaker 1>in the wild. Today's episode is based on the article

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<v Speaker 1>the mighty Banyan tree can walk and live for centuries

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<v Speaker 1>on how Stuffworks dot Com, written by Michelle Constantinofsky. Brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how Stuffworks

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<v Speaker 1>dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more

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<v Speaker 1>podcasts from iHeartRadio. Visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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