Birth Star: MAKAM
English Name: Banyan tree
Malayalam Name: പേരാൽ
Botanical Name: Ficus benghalensis L.
Family: Moraceae
Description: The Banyan tree is India’s national tree and one of the most significant trees in its history. It was given the name banyan because traders and travellers from the Indian Bania caste valued its shade. Along roads and in parks, the tree is planted as an attractive and shade tree. In ethnomedicine, the tree’s fruits, leaves, roots, and bark are all employed. The fruits can be consumed, but only in times of scarcity. For ruminants, especially during times of scarcity, banyan leaves are lopped. Because the banyan tree is monoecious, it bears clearly distinguishable male and female blooms. The hollow inflorescence has a variety of flower counts inside a pear-shaped receptacle.This tree spreads out like a tiny forest because it is characterised by descending aerial roots, each of which can sprout into new trunks. One of the key components of “Panchavalkala’’ an Ayurvedic medicine found to have anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antimicrobial, and wound healing properties.
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