A banyan, also spelled banian (/ˈbænjən/ BAN-yən),[1] is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adjacent prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely.

This is colloquially known as a "strangler" habit, which banyans share with a number of other tropical Ficus species, as well as some other unrelated genera such as Clusia and Metrosideros.

[2][7][8][page needed][9] The leaves of the banyan tree are large, leathery, glossy, green, and elliptical.

[14] In a banyan that envelops its host tree, the mesh of roots growing around the latter eventually applies considerable pressure to and commonly kills it.

[citation needed] From research, it is known that the longevity of banyan tree is due to multiple signs of adaptive (MSA) evolution of genes.

[15] The name was originally given to F. benghalensis and comes from India, where early European travelers observed that the shade of the tree was frequented by Banyans (a corruption of Baniyas, a community of Indian traders).