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Ficus religiosa
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Family:
MORACEAE
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Citation: Ficus religiosa L., Sp. Pl. 1059. 1753; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 5: 513. 1888; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 1363(953). 1928; Manilal & Sivar., Fl. Calicut 277. 1982; Mohanan, Fl. Quilon Dist. 380. 1984; Ansari, Fl. Kasaragod Div. 357. 1985; Ramach. & V.J. Nair, Fl. Cannanore Dist. 434. 1988; Babu, Fl. Malappuram Dist. 754. 1990; Vajr., Fl. Palghat Dist. 450. 1990; M. Mohanan & Henry, Fl. Thiruvanthapuram 433. 1994; Sasidh., Fl. Shenduruny WLS 304. 1997; Sasidh., Fl. Parambikulam WLS 313. 2002; Anil Kumar et al., Fl. Pathanamthitta 465. 2005; Sunil & Sivadasan, Fl. Alappuzha Dist. 665. 2009; Ratheesh Narayanan, Fl. Stud. Wayanad Dist. 777. 2009.
Urostigma religiosum (L.) Gasp., Ric. Caprifico 82. t. 7. ff.1-5. 1845.
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Malayalam Name(s):
Arayal, Arasu, Ashvatham, Bodhivriksham, Thullal
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
Peepal tree, Pipul, Sacred bo tree, Sacred fig
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Description:
Deciduous trees, to 25 m high; aerial roots absent; bark grey, smooth; exudation milky. Leaves simple, alternate, spiral; new leaves pink; stipules 1-1.5 cm long, lateral, ovate-lanceolate, puberulous; petiole 60-120 mm long, stout, glabrous, articulated, a gland at the apex below; lamina 5-13 x 4.5-12 cm, broadly ovate, base truncate or subcordate, apex caudate-acuminate, margin entire, undulate, glabrous, shining, coriaceous; 5-7-ribbed from base, lateral nerves 8-10 pairs, pinnate, slender, prominent beneath, looped near the margin, intercostae reticulate, prominent. Flowers unisexual; inflorescence a syconia, sessile, axillary, in pairs, obovoid or globose, twig wall thick; basal bracts 3, 3-5 mm long, ovate-obtuse, silky-puberulous, persistent, orifice, closed by 3 apical bracts in a disc 2-3 mm wide; internal bristles none; flowers of 4 kinds; male flowers ostiolar, sessile, in one ring; tepals 2, ovate-lanceolate, free, reddish; stamen 1; filaments 0.2 mm; anther oblong, parallel; female flowers sessile; tepals 3-4, linear-lanceolate, free, brownish, glabrous; ovary superior, ovoid-oblong, 1 mm, red-brown, style 1.5 mm, lateral, stigma rounded; gall flowers similar to female. Syconium 4-8 mm across, ripening pink, purple or black; achenes smooth.
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Habit:
Tree
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Flowering & Fruiting:
November-February
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District(s):
All Districts
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Medicinal:
Yes
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Habitat:
Widely planted in temple premises
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Distribution:
East Himalayas; planted and naturalised in India and neighbouring countries
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Aquatic:
No
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Epiphyte(s):
No
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Saprophyte:
No
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Stem parasite:
No
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Root parasite:
No
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Flower colour(s):
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Weed:
No
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Monocot/Dicot:
Dicotyledonous Plants
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Exotic:
Yes
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Garden:
No
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Edible:
No
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Vegetable:
No
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Endemic to:
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
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Localities:
Rosemala, Peruvaripallam, Pathanamthitta, Kasaragod, Kuthiyathodu
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