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Ficus religiosa
Also called Sacred Fig, Bodhi Tree, Botree, Peepultree
In Singapore: Bodhi Tree, Sacred Fig Tree, Pipul Tree, Budi, Pipal Tree, Pepul Tree, Bo Tree, Bodi, Ara Budi, Peepul Tree, 菩提树 (Naturalised in Singapore)
4 NParks heritage trees in Singapore: Found in; Found in Pearl's Hill City Park hilltop, near Service Reservoir gate; Found in Canterbury Road, on Stateland near Lamp Post 14; Found in
Peepul (Ficus religiosa) is a large, sacred fig tree from the Indian subcontinent and Indochina, growing up to 30 m tall. It thrives in hot, humid, seasonally dry tropical climates with full sun and deep, well-drained loam.
Ficus religiosa or sacred fig is a species of fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina that belongs to the fig and mulberry family Moraceae. It is also known as the bodhi tree, bo tree, peepul tree, peepal tree, pipala tree or ashvattha tree (in Bangladesh, India and Nepal). The sacred fig is considered to have religious significance in four major religions that originated on the Indian subcontinent: Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. Hindu and Jain ascetics consider the species to be sacred and often meditate under it. Gautama Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment under a tree of this species. The sacred fig is the state tree of the Indian states of Odisha, Bihar and Haryana.
Ficus religiosa is grown by specialty tree plant nurseries for use as an ornamental tree, in gardens and parks in tropical and subtropical climates. Peepul trees are native to Indian subcontinent and thrive in hot, humid weather. They prefer full sunlight and can grow in all soil types, though loam is the best. When planting, use soil with a pH of 7 or below. While it is possible for the plant to grow indoors in a pot, it grows best outside. Young peepul needs proper nourishment. It requires full sunlight and proper watering. Sacred fig occurs naturally in submontane forest regions. As with many Ficus trees, these are well suited for Bonsai training.
In the Middle East, it is preferably planted as an avenue or road verge tree. In the Philippines and in Nicaragua the species is cultivated in parks and along roadsides and pavements, while in Paraguay it occurs in forests at lower elevations.
Ficus religiosa is native to most of the Indian subcontinent – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and India including the Assam region, Eastern Himalaya and the Nicobar Islands, as well as part of Indochina – the Andaman Islands, Thailand, Myanmar and Peninsular Malaysia. It has been widely introduced elsewhere, particularly in the rest of tropical Asia, but also in Iran (Balochistan), Florida and Venezuela.
Ficus religiosa is used in traditional medicine for about fifty types of disorders including asthma, diabetes, diarrhea, epilepsy, gastric problems, inflammatory disorders, infectious and sexual disorders.
Ficus annulata · Mosaic Fig · Ficus atricha · Florida strangler fig · Roxburgh fig · Indian banyan · Weeping fig · Longleaf Fig · Ficus brachypoda · Fig · Ficus caulocarpa · Ficus celebensis
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ficus religiosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
