76 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
with lanceolate, acuminate, dark green, furrowed leaves, pro- 
duced in fan formation. Its peculiarity of growth, rather 
than ornamental value, makes it of particular interest. The 
abundance of white, strongly scented flowers produces a pleas- 
ing effect during certain seasons. 
THE BANYAN TREE 
The banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis), a small specimen 
of which is to be found at the west end of the varied in- 
dustries house, is a tropical tree of India, chiefly noteworthy 
because of its columnar roots. Closely related to this species 
is the celebrated Asrhatta, sacred fig tree of the Hindus, under 
which Buddha is said to have gained his wisdom. 
As the banyan grows upward and outward the branches 
are supported by aerial roots, resulting from seed germinat- 
ing while still on the topmost leaves, which reach to the 
ground and take root. These columnar roots extend in diam- 
eter, producing branches and other lateral roots, the entire 
structure acting not only as a support but assuming the 
function of absorption and distribution of food as well. The 
trees grow to such an immense spread that it is claimed that 
an army of 5,000 men once encamped beneath the shade of 
one, while the village of Dina Pitza, Ceylon, with its hun- 
dred huts, stands under the crown of another. It is only 
through care and cultivation by the natives, who consider 
the tree sacred, that such size is attained. Ordinarily the 
ground under the tree is so hard, due to the dense foliage, 
that the aerial roots cannot penetrate it without aid from the 
natives, which is furnished by encasing the roots in bamboo 
tubes and sinking them in the ground. Usually the col- 
umnar roots are not developed in greenhouses, but the Mis- 
souri Botanical Garden is fortunate in having one specimen 
showing a large aerial root which started at a height of about 
4 feet and, after twining itself around the main stem, en- 
tered the ground. 
The tree yields an inferior grade of rubber containing 12.4 
per cent caoutchoue and 82.2 per cent resin. It is employed 
in Lahore in the oxidation of copper. For medicinal pur- 
poses the juice is applied externally for bruises and as an 
anodyne in rheumatism. An infusion of the bark is re- 
garded as a powerful tonic in the treatment of diabetes, while 
the leaves are heated and used as a poultice. The fruits, 
leaves, and young shoots are used as food by the natives as 
well as fodder for their cattle. 
