The Great Banyan Tree (Ficus benhaclensis) in the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanical Garden, Howrah, is the wildest tree in the world. Over 250 years old and covering about 1.5 hectares, the tree has the appearance of a forest, but what appear to be individual trees are actually 3,600 aerial roots. After two cyclones and a fungal attack, the tree’s main 51-foot trunk had to be removed. But, the “clonal colony” of the tree itself remains healthy. A 330-metre-long road around the tree lets visitors drive around the circumference, but the Great Banyan continues to grow wider every year.
As one of the widest trees on Earth in terms of the area its canopy covers, the Great Banyan takes up around 4 acres (16,187 square meters) of land and continues to grow every year. If one were to see the tree from a distance, they would assume that it is a small forest. However, what looks like individual trees are really the Great Banyan Tree’s aerial roots, which are estimated to number around 3,000.
As evidence of the Great Banyan’s continual growth, the tree has expanded beyond the road, creating a kind of shaded tunnel for drivers. The tree is popular enough in India that it has been featured on stamps and attracts more visitors than the actual botanic garden, which harbors exotic plants from around the world.
Picture Credit : Google