Trees of South Coast Botanic Garden: The Banyan

The Banyan Grove, South Coast Botanic Garden. Author’s photographs

The author wrote of the remarkable evolution of the South Coast Botanic Garden, from landfill site to a jewel of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, in the November 2009 issue of Pacific Horticulture. She returns for the first in an occasional series on the trees to be discoverd among the garden’s treasures.

Of all the trees in the world, probably the most distinctive in shape and form is the banyan tree. Originally, the word “banyan” was used exclusively as the common name for Ficus benghalensis, a tree native to India; now, however, banyan is used just as commonly for other trees in the genus that have a similar habit and lifestyle. The word was picked up by the Portuguese and, later, the English to refer to the merchants, or banias, who took advantage of the shade and cool air under the canopy of the banyan trees to sell their products. Hence, banya actually referred to “merchant or grocer” rather than to the tree. Today, the meaning has shifted to the tree rather than the people who are gathered to do business in its shelter.

The fruits of a...