CSIR-NEERI Biodiversity Portal

PEEPAL

Ficus religiosa L.

Botanical name	: Ficus religiosa L.
Synonym	: Ficus peepal Griff.
Vernacular name	: Peepal / bodhi tree / holy tree / scared fig
Family	: Moraceae
About the Tree	: Peepal is a medium size, fast growing deciduous or semi-evergreen tree with large crown and wonderful wide spreading branches. Peepal is unrivalled for its antiquity and religious significance. No other tree is claimed to have such long life - one in Sri Lanka, said to have been planted in the year 288 B.C., still lives and flourishes. It is native to Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, south-west China and Indo-china.
Height	: Grows up to 30m.
Bark	: Bark grey, smooth, exudation milky.
Leaf	: Leaves leathery 4-8 inches long by 3-5 inches wide, somewhat egg-shaped or rounded, tailed at the tip and heart-shaped at the base, or sometimes rounded. The young leaves are frequently pink, change to copper and finally to green.
Flower	: Inflorescence Hypanthodium, globosely turbinate, the apex truncate or sub acute, with few brown spots, basal bracts 3, unequal, slightly imbricate. Florets few, gall florets. Tepals 2 or 3, valvate, staminate florets monandrous. Ovary sessile, style 1 mm long. Male, female and gall flowers enclosed in axillary, sessile, globose figs.
Fruits	: The fruits are small figs 1-1.5 cm in diameter, green ripening to purple.
Season	: Flowering and fruiting from November-January. It shed its leaves in the month of March and April.
Medicinal Properties Peculiar Character	: The juice of its leaves extracted by holding them near the fire can be used as the ear drop. The bark of the tree is useful in inflammations and glandular swelling of the neck. Its root bark is useful for clean ulcers, and promotes granulations. Its roots are also good for gout. : Leaves move even when the air around the tree is still. A sacred tree to most Hindus, and is planted close to temples.