Ficus religiosa

Sacred fig
The tree trunk and distinctive heart-shaped leaves
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Moraceae
Genus: Ficus
Subgenus: F. subg. Urostigma
Species:
F. religiosa
Binomial name
Ficus religiosa
L. 1753 not Forssk. 1775
Synonyms
  • Ficus caudata Stokes
  • Ficus peepul Griff.
  • Ficus religiosa var. cordata Miq.
  • Ficus religiosa var. rhynchophylla Miq.
  • Ficus rhynchophylla Steud.
  • Ficus superstitiosa Link
  • Urostigma affine Miq.
  • Urostigma religiosum (L.) Gasp.

Ficus religiosa or sacred fig is a species of fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina that belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as the bodhi tree, peepul tree, peepal tree, pipala tree or ashvattha tree (in India and Nepal). The sacred fig is considered to have a 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.

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