Sacred fig
species of fig From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ficus religiosa or the sacred fig is a species of fig on the Indian subcontinent and Indochina.[1] It belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as the bodhi tree,[2] pippala tree, peepul tree,[1] peepal tree or ashwattha tree (in India and Nepal).[3]
The sacred fig is considered to have a religious significance in three major religions of the Indian subcontinent: Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. It is the type of tree under which Gautama Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment. Hindu and Jain ascetics also consider the tree to be sacred and often meditate under them.
It begins life as an epiphyte, and eventually surrounds and outlives its host tree.[4] The kind of growth is like dozens of vertical trunks stuck together. In the middle may be a space where the original tree of another species once grew.
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