What do you first see in this image?
This photo has been taken by my husband to catch the first golden rays of the Sun reaching this small Maruti temple on our walk route. What struck me was the perfect V shape flare of the Peepal tree that grows right behind it.
The Peepal is yet another Ficus variety common in my city and goes by the botanical name Ficus religiosa. It belongs to the Moraceae family and exudes milky sap when a branch is broken. This tree has typically heart shaped leaves with a long tail.. some of us have preserved these in books whereby they dry up and only the intricate venation is visible. It loses all its leaves in spring and is covered with lovely new red leaves.
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| Leaf |
I wonder if this lovely leaf could have been the inspiration for the famous Paisley design??!!
Unlike other Ficus varieties, I have not seen aerial roots on the Peepal. It is usually seen in temples and as a roadside tree often growing to a mammoth size and provides welcome shade for any and everyone!
I am sure all of you must be familiar with the Peepal. And its a popular tree on the fantastic ThursdayTreeLove blog hop hosted by Parul. Do head over to see some fantastic trees from around the world. If you have an image of a tree you like, then do join!
Such big leaves. No, we don't have this tree in my temperate climate in the Northeast United States, and few trees with big leaves like that. I can imagine, though, how the shade is welcomed.
The paisley gets its inspiration from the Mango.And you are very observant I must say!
@Alana Yes, some leaves grow to the size of a human hand! Not a popular species for bonsai in our bonsai group! Thank you so much for stopping by 🙂
@bellybytes Ah.. yes.. it has to be Mango for Paisley! So glad you could stop by 🙂
What a lovely one. I noticed the temple and then the tree. But then after i read your post, that V flare was gorgeous. So glad you shared this. I love Peepal tree 🙂
Thank you for joining, Archana! I hope to see you back tomorrow.
Stay safe.
@Parul.. Happy to participate in TTL.. Yes, I do have a tree for this week ! 🙂
Nice pic!
I'd posted about Peepal too 🙂
@Priya Indeed and what lovely trees! Thank you for stopping by 🙂