Chinese Banyan (Ficus microcarpa)

Crazy Roots of Chinese Banyan This fig tree is a huge strangler which can grow on host trees and other structures and strangle them with its bountiful roots. Roots starts as small soft aerial roots which reaches the ground and slowly strengthen into strong trunks. This is a very common species of fig which could be found everywhere especially in urban areas. It is truly amazing and a work of art that this naturally large-growing species can be cultivated into the tiny bonsai which this species is wellknown for instead. Borneo have over 150 native fig species and I have documented 1/3 of it together with 1StopBorneo Wildlife expeditions. It is amazing to document the great variety of forms figs plants can grow into.

Ficus microcarpa,Geotagged,Malaysia,Summer

Appearance

''Ficus microcarpa'' is a tropical tree with smooth light-gray bark and entire oblanceolate leaves about 2-2.5 inches long which in Mediterranean climates grows to about forty feet tall and with an equal spread of crown. Where conditions are favorable for the banyan habit it grows much larger, producing great numbers of prop roots.

The largest known specimen is "Auntie Sarah's Banyan" at the Menehune Botanical Gardens near Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawai'i which is 110.0 feet in height, 250 feet in crown spread, and having over one thousand aerial trunks.

Chinese Banyan close up This fig tree is a huge strangler which can grow on host trees and other structures and strangle them with its bountiful roots. Roots starts as small soft aerial roots which reaches the ground and slowly strengthen into strong trunks. This is a very common species of fig which could be found everywhere especially in urban areas. It is truly amazing and a work of art that this naturally large-growing species can be cultivated into the tiny bonsai which this species is wellknown for instead. Borneo have over 150 native fig species and I have documented 1/3 of it together with 1StopBorneo Wildlife expeditions. It is amazing to document the great variety of forms figs plants can grow into.
Chinese Banyan,Ficus microcarpa,Geotagged,Malaysia,Summer

Distribution

It is native to Sri Lanka, India, southern China, Insulinde, Ryukyu Islands, Australia and New Caledonia. A tropical and subtropical species, the tree requires a warm climate and a humid atmosphere. It can nevertheless withstand temperatures close to 0 °C. The species occurs mainly at low elevations, and its natural habitats include tropical rainforests, river edges, coasts, swamps and mangroves.

Chinese Banyan leaf back This fig tree is a huge strangler which can grow on host trees and other structures and strangle them with its bountiful roots. Roots starts as small soft aerial roots which reaches the ground and slowly strengthen into strong trunks. This is a very common species of fig which could be found everywhere especially in urban areas. It is truly amazing and a work of art that this naturally large-growing species can be cultivated into the tiny bonsai which this species is wellknown for instead. Borneo have over 150 native fig species and I have documented 1/3 of it together with 1StopBorneo Wildlife expeditions. It is amazing to document the great variety of forms figs plants can grow into.
Chinese Banyan,Ficus microcarpa,Geotagged,Malaysia,Summer

Cultural

In Southeast Asia, ''F. microcarpa'', among other species, is thought to be home to spirits, such as Pontianak. In China, large fig trees can be associated with beneficial spirits and vital energy. In Singapore, some trees are associated with places of worship among Buddhists and Taoists.

References:

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Taxonomy
Kingdom	Plantae
Division	Angiosperms
Class	Eudicots
Order	Rosales
Family	Moraceae
Genus	Ficus
Species	F. microcarpa

Photographed in
Malaysia