Ficus religiosa L. Main specimen
Moraceae
{ Nomenclature }

  • Botanical name : Ficus religiosa
  • Author : Linnaeus, Carl von (1753)
  • Family : Moraceae
  • English names : Bo tree, bodhi tree, holy tree, peepal tree, scared fig
  • Indian names (phonetics) :
    Bengali : Asbattha
    Hindi : Pipal, peepli
    Kannada : Arali
    Malayalam : Arayal
    Marathi : Pimpal
    Sanskrit : Pippalah
    Tamil : Arasamaram
    Telugu : Ravi
  • Synonyms :
    Ficus caudata Stokes
    Ficus peepul Griff.
    Ficus religiosa var. cordata Miq.
    Ficus religiosa var. rhynchophylla Miq.
    Ficus rhynchophylla Steud.
    Ficus superstitiosa Link
    Urostigma religiosum (L.) Gasp.
    (Source : Catalogue of Life: 28th September 2015, http://www.catalogueoflife.org/)
  • Etymology :
    - Ficus : From the ancient Latin name ficus, fici, for the fig.
    - Religiosa : From the Latin religiosus meaning sacred, venerated. The Buddha is reputed to have received enlightenment beneath a peepal tree (Ficus religiosa).