Ficus religiosa

Ficus religiosa
    n 1: fig tree of India noted for great size and longevity; lacks
         the prop roots of the banyan; regarded as sacred by
         Buddhists [syn: {pipal}, {pipal tree}, {pipul}, {peepul},
         {sacred fig}, {bo tree}, {Ficus religiosa}]
    

peepul \pee"pul\ (p[=e]"p[u^]l), Peepul tree \Pee"pul
tree`\(p[=e]"p[u^]l tr[=e]`). [Hind. p[imac]pal, Skr. pippala.]
   (Bot.)
   A sacred tree ({Ficus religiosa}) of the Buddhists, a kind of
   fig tree which attains great size and venerable age; it lacks
   the prop roots of the {banyan}. See {Bo tree}. [Written also
   {pippul tree}, and {pipal tree}.]

   Syn: pipal, peepul, peepul tree, pipal tree, pipul, sacred
        fig, bo tree, {Ficus religiosa}.
        [1913 Webster]
    

Bo tree \Bo" tree`\ (Bot.)
   The peepul tree; esp., the very ancient tree standing at
   Anurajahpoora in Ceylon, grown from a slip of the tree under
   which Gautama is said to have received the heavenly light and
   so to have become Buddha.
   [1913 Webster]

         The sacred bo tree of the Buddhists ({Ficus
         religiosa}), which is planted close to every temple,
         and attracts almost as much veneration as the status of
         the god himself. . . . It differs from the banyan
         ({Ficus Indica}) by sending down no roots from its
         branches.                                --Tennent.
   [1913 Webster]