This tree in Kolkata lost its main trunk, and it’s still alive

One of the oldest banyan trees in the world lost its main trunk decades ago and is still alive. The Great Banyan, located at the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden near Calcutta, had its original trunk removed due to disease in the 20th century, yet the tree survives thanks to thousands of aerial roots that now cover more than 4 acres of land.

This survival is possible because of the banyan tree’s unique biology. Unlike other trees that grow from a single trunk, banyan trees form aerial roots on their branches that descend to the ground and thicken into woody secondary trunks over time. A single banyan can produce hundreds of these secondary trunks, effectively becoming one organism spread across several acres. If the primary trunk is destroyed or dies, the tree survives through its secondary trunks, and it can become nearly impossible to tell which trunk was the original.

Some banyan trees alive today are estimated to be 400 to 500 years old, though accurately ageing them is difficult since the trunk keeps regenerating. Another giant, the Thimmamma Marrimanu in Andhra Pradesh, occupies nearly 5 acres of land and is considered one of the largest specimens of its kind in the world.

The banyan tree also holds deep cultural significance in India, viewed as a symbol of eternity, wisdom and longevity in Hinduism and associated with Lord Shiva and Vishnu. Villages have used banyan trees as meeting places for festivals and storytelling since ancient times.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/by McKay Savage