As we went on associating different Bonsai passionate in this blog, one tree attracted us from the very first site was Bodhi. Almost all the Bonsai passionate had this tree or wanting to have this tree. This tree attracts every one from the very sound, for its history and religious value. However, when we tried to match this tree with its botanical name, it triggered some conflicting information.
The Botanical Name for Bodhi is ‘Ficus religiosa’ and the common name is pipal. “Pipal”! commonly seen pipal? but all experts we met pointed to a tree with different leaf shape, unlike the regular pipal leaf which is heart shaped.”
With that, we tried to take support of Wiki to demystify this further, and below are some interesting information.
According to Wiki: The Bodhi Tree (Ficus religiosa) is also known as Sacred Fig tree. Even the Sacred Fig (also known as Mahabodhi tree) growing at the Mahabodhi Temple, which is a direct descendant of the original specimen under which Lord Buddha was enlighted, has heart shaped leaf (Pipal leaf).
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi_Tree
All google links and images are leading us to normal pipal tree. So, does the botanical name “Ficus religiosa” is shared by 2 different species? is pipal tree also a Bodhi? and the question bank keeps building. We started with one question and leaving you with many unanswered questions.
Though we didn’t get through with solid information to conclude this blog with proper judgement, we wanted to share our important learning of this tree. Do you know why Ficus Religiosa is considered as a sacred tree? Ficus Religiosa do a modified form of photosynthesis called Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM).Though they may not release large amount of oxygen by this process but they are capable of doing photosynthesis during night. Besides this research work conducted on several plants along with Ficus Religiosa revealed that Ficus Religiosa releases large quantities of Isoprene a volatile organic compound necessary for preventing depletion of ozone layer concluding that these trees play an important role in preserving ozone layer.
Source: http://www.desiwonders.com/health/why-ficus-religiosa-is-sacred-tree/9/
We are still curious to learn and share the mystery about Bodhi, anyone who has the decoded answer please feel free to share your thoughts through comments.
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