30 August 2009

Banyan Tree


Banyan (Nuga) trees are kind of nature’s wonder to me. The large numbers of aerial roots which are coming down from the branches grow into thick trunks later on. An older banyan tree would have hundreds of such smaller trunks all around the main trunk.

An old banyan tree is a photographer’s delight and this particular photo was taken near the famous Thalawila Church in the North Western Province (Wayamba) of Sri Lanka.

33 comments:

clo said...

Hello...:o)
i hope you are good...
i saw this sort of roots on trees in Reunion island ...beautiful shot...
always a breathtaking to see your blog....
have a good week.....:o)

Álvaro said...

Very curious. It´s the first time I see this kind of tree. Nice shot.
Greetings from Spain.

poefusion said...

Hello Kirigalpoththa~ What an interesting tree. I've never seen such a unique tree before now. Thanks for sharing. Have a great night.

rainfield61 said...

It does propose some wonders to a photographer.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi There, I love to see Banyon trees. I've seen one somewhere ---but I cannot remember where. Very interesting trees to say the least!!!!

Thanks for sharing.
Betsy

George said...

I think banyan trees are fascinating. Thanks for this great picture.

betchai said...

it is also natures wonder to me too, they look spooky and very interesting.

Lakpathy Wijesekara said...

is it true that Sri Maha Bodiya is the worlds oldest banyan tree ?

Janith said...

a wonderful tree indeed! great capture K! :)

Kirigalpoththa said...

Clo,
Reunion island - Is it the one East of Madagascar?
Usually Banyan's are quite abundant in the
Indian subcontinent – Infact, it is called the Indian fig tree. May be you have seen the same tree in the island too.
Thanks for sharing your experience!

Alvaro,
It is very curious tree :) I do not think Banyan trees are in Spain. Usually it is grown in the tropics.

Michelle,
Yep, there are even more interesting trees of this type. The one in the photograph above is not an old one. Older trees will be more interesting with huge trunks with massive amounts of sub sub trunks :)

Rainfield,
Yes, infact when you see it from different angles you see different shapes. :)

Betsy,
Glad to hear you have seen one. Is it in US?
I'll try to add even better trees in the future!

George,
Yep, I have seen very interesting ones as well. Some are grown to the extent of completely covering man made structures like walls, small buildings etc..with its sub trunks.

Betchai,
Indeed they are quite spooky. The aerial roots really add a sinister look to the tree!

Hi Lakpathy,
Thanks for dropping by. You may be correct if you say Sri Maha bodhi is the oldest 'fig' tree that has a recorded history. Banyan tree (ficus benghalensis) and Bo trees (Sacred Fig - ficus religiosa) are related and they both belong to the same genus 'ficus'

Chavie,
There are even better trees around Colombo too. There is a huge one at Park road.

Thanks all for your comments!

Bim said...

Very interesting tree - I hadn't seen one before. They're kind of strange.

Kirigalpoththa said...

Bim,
Thanks for your comments!

Vidya said...

I have being following your blog for quite sometime and really love your pictures and your country. I love Banyan trees as well.

Kirigalpoththa said...

Hi Vidya,
Thanks for dropping by and I was quite impressed with your blog.
Thanks for your wonderful comments too!

Anonymous said...

Truly a wonder of nature. Amazed, I see this and it fascinates me.I like traveling and maybe I can see the real time me. Thanks for this shots.Manuela

Rajesh said...

Very nice shot. They grow very big. Here in Bangalore we have one very old such tree.

Kirigalpoththa said...

Manuela / Rajesh,

Thanks very much for your comments :)

Harshi said...

Thanks for those interesting facts about the banyan tree. The pic looks very nice too.

I wonder if most of the enormous trees we saw between Ruwanweliseya and Sri Maha Bodhi might be banyan trees too.. though they might be very old ones compared to this.

Kirigalpoththa said...

Harumi,
You are welcome! There are many varieities of fig trees and they are abundant in the roads to Anuradhapura. Some of them can be Banyans.
Thanks very much for your comments :)

naomijane said...

great picture...i have seen a lot of banyan trees and they have always fascinated me...the long branches..the extent to which they extend is just amazing...keep up the gr8 work..

Kirigalpoththa said...

Hi Naomijane,
Many thanks for dropping by and for your comments :)

vois avec le coeur said...

Banyan trees are some of my favorite! I saw these for the first time in Thailand, they're absolutely mesmerizing :)

Sunny said...

What a fascinating tree! Great picture and very interesting.
Sunny :)

Kirigalpoththa said...

Macon / Sunny,
Thanks ver much for your comments!

Married to Singaporean said...

The tree is lovely.

Kirigalpoththa said...

Married to Singaporean,
Thanks very much for your comments!

Anonymous said...

All your pictures and discription are very important. I cannot express the value of those in word.Once again I like to admire your work of art.

Rohana Lakmal Ranasinghe

Kirigalpoththa said...

Hi Rohana,
Thanks a million for your comments! :)

liz.photoblog said...

An extraordinary tree and beautiful photograph. Thanks for posting for those of us who may never be able to see one up close.

Kirigalpoththa said...

Hi Liz,
you are most welcome and I will try to add even more interesting banyan trees in near future.
Thanks very much for your comments!

Loshini said...

banyan trees are fascinating.. lots of superstitions regarding them from my place :)

Kirigalpoththa said...

Loshini,
Yes. even in Sri Lanka, there are lot of superstitions on banyan trees :)
Thanks a lot for your comments!!

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