Species
+

Ficus religiosa L.

Bodhi tree, Peepul Tree, Peepul tree, bo tree

Climate known 53 photographs Tropical foliage plant
Add one to my plants Sow seed

Every figure on this page is derived from public data by a stated rule and says its source; nothing here is written by a person or a model, except the Wikipedia passage, which is quoted and marked as such. How it is made.

Summary

Ficus religiosa or sacred fig is a species of fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina that belongs to the fig and mulberry family Moraceae. It is also known as the bodhi tree, bo tree, peepul tree, peepal tree, pipala tree or ashvattha tree. The sacred fig is considered to have religious significance in four major religions that originated on the Indian subcontinent: Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. Hindu and Jain ascetics consider the species to be sacred and often meditate under it. More on Wikipedia ›

The opening of Wikipedia, “Ficus religiosa”, CC BY-SA 4.0, quoted as written. Kept separate from everything derived here.

About the genus · Ficus

Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. Many Ficus species are grown for their fruits, though only two species, the common fig and sycamore fig, are cultivated to any extent, with common fig being the type species and by far the most important. More on Wikipedia ›

The opening of Wikipedia, “Ficus”, CC BY-SA 4.0, quoted as written.

Family
Moraceae
Described by
L.
Native to
Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya +5
Wild records
845 in range· 586 open

At a glance

Warmest month
34°C
Apr, mean day; nights 24 °C (CHELSA)
Rain
1394mm/yr
8 wet months · peak Jul 323 mm (CHELSA)
Light
27–42DLI
mol/m²/day, winter to summer, open sky (CHELSA shortwave)
In short condensed by rule from the cultivation cards · not written by a person
Grouped as a tropical foliage plant by the genus Ficus, which is reliably one kind of plant (archetype table). Rain rule: a rainy season, June to October at the habitat (not shifted), at the year's mean temperature, so called neither winter nor summer. Habitat rain 1394 mm a year, wettest July at 323 mm, driest January at 12 mm (habitat calendar, northern hemisphere). Open sky over the habitat: 27 to 42 mol/m²/day. Cold floor 15.2 °C (1st-percentile habitat night, NASA POWER).
Each sentence is one card's own one-line form, written by the same rule as the card (Its year, Rain, Light, Temperature); the note cannot say what a card does not. Months are given for the northern hemisphere (set your site in Settings to change this), and the habitat's own alongside. The cards · the figures.

Also known as Ficus caudata Stokes; Ficus peepul Griff.; Ficus religiosa var. cordata Miq.; Ficus religiosa var. rhynchophylla Miq.; Ficus rhynchophylla Steud. and 3 more.

Cultivation

Grouped as a tropical foliage plant by the genus Ficus, which is reliably one kind of plant (archetype table). The table supplies one figure for this group, a conventional minimum for the cold floor, and no prose.

Its year Rain rule: a rainy season, June to October at the habitat (not shifted), at the year's mean temperature, so called neither winter nor summer.

This species’ habitat figures, and what two fixed rules read from them.

The rain rule reads a rainy season with no name: 70% of the year's rain (1139 mm of 1394 mm) falls in June to October, whose mean temperature, 26.7 °C, is within half a degree of the year's, 26.3 °C, so it is neither the cooler nor the warmer part of the year. Months are the habitat's, northern hemisphere, within 10° of the equator; with no thermal season there there is no season to reverse, so they are not shifted for a collection elsewhere.

Read from the median year of CHELSA monthly rainfall and mean temperature across the envelope cells: the rain rule takes the smallest set of months carrying 70% of the rain and calls it winter when its mean is more than half a degree below the year's, summer when more than that above, and neither in between; the temperature rule, used only under 120 mm, names the cooler six months when they are at least a degree cooler than the other six. Months are shifted for the other hemisphere only where the temperature curve gives a season to reverse. A reading of the curves, not an observation of the plant.

Rain Habitat rain 1394 mm a year, wettest July at 323 mm, driest January at 12 mm (habitat calendar, northern hemisphere).

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

1394 mm a year at the habitat, 1139 mm of it June to October. Wettest month July at 323 mm, driest January at 12 mm. Across the envelope cells the year's total runs 760 mm to 2984 mm (10th to 90th percentile of each cell's own year) (median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA; habitat calendar, northern hemisphere).

CHELSA monthly precipitation, median year across the envelope cells. The rain that falls where the species is recorded; nothing about how the plant takes water.

Light Open sky over the habitat: 27 to 42 mol/m²/day.

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

Open sky over the habitat: 27 to 42 mol/m²/day across the year (daily light integral, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA; the lowest 10th-percentile month across the cells is 23, the highest 90th-percentile month 47).

CHELSA shortwave radiation at each envelope cell, a daily-mean flux taken to a daily total and converted at 2.07 mol of PAR per MJ. The sky over the habitat, measured; what reaches a plant under a rock, a shrub or a shade cloth is not.

Warmth and air Cold floor 15.2 °C (1st-percentile habitat night, NASA POWER).

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

Temperature

Coldest: the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at the typical cell is 15.2 °C, the absolute minimum 12.7 °C, no frost in 44 years (NASA POWER daily minima). Warmest: the 99th-percentile day is 42.2 °C. Monthly means: coldest night 18.0 °C in January (across the envelope cells 8.7 °C to 23.4 °C), warmest day 33.8 °C in April (median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA). Cold floor: 15.2 °C, which is the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at the typical cell (NASA POWER); the archetype table's minimum for a tropical foliage plant, 12 °C, is lower and does not raise it.

NASA POWER daily minima and maxima 1981–2024 at the typical cell, lapse-corrected to its elevation; CHELSA monthly means, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA. The cold floor is the figure named in its sentence, and the archetype table's group minimum where that is higher. Not a measured survival limit for any plant in a pot.

Humidity

Relative humidity at the habitat: 54 to 67% across the year (monthly means, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA). A figure about the air, saying nothing about how the plant takes water.

CHELSA relative humidity, median year across the envelope cells.

The figures the cards read from are in Climate below, and where they came from in Natural habitat.

Climate across the habitat

Habitat climate through the yearMean day from 28 °C in Dec to 34 °C in Apr; mean night from 18 °C in Jan to 26 °C in May. The cold quarter, Dec to Feb, is the three months around the coldest night. 1394 mm of rain a year, most in Jul. The bands show the 10th to 90th percentile across 486 habitat cells. Over 44 years at the typical cell the absolute minimum was 12.7 °C and the 99th-percentile day 42.2 °C; neither is dated to a month. Beneath: daily light integral and relative humidity through the year, each on its own scale.10°20°30°40°50°42.2° 99th-percentile day (undated)12.7° lowest night in 44 yrs (undated)°C · day and nightcold quarter0200400600800mm rainDLI 27–42RH 54–67 %JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
day night rain 10th–90th percentile across 486 habitat cells cold quarter: the three months around the coldest night extremes over 44 years at the typical cell, marked at the edge: undated DLI, mol/m²/dayRH %each on its own scale
Figures by month
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Day °C28 / 22–3230 / 24–3333 / 29–3534 / 30–3833 / 30–3930 / 28–3729 / 27–3328 / 26–3229 / 27–3329 / 27–3229 / 26–3028 / 23–30
Night °C18 / 9–2319 / 11–2422 / 16–2524 / 20–2626 / 21–2725 / 22–2824 / 21–2624 / 21–2624 / 20–2523 / 18–2421 / 14–2419 / 10–23
Rain mm12 / 2–3014 / 1–3522 / 3–6749 / 4–16794 / 16–267175 / 56–704323 / 87–773264 / 104–550210 / 110–330167 / 25–35350 / 7–23414 / 4–61
DLI33 / 27–3738 / 32–4141 / 38–4442 / 37–4641 / 32–4732 / 26–4027 / 24–3328 / 23–3431 / 28–3532 / 29–3430 / 27–3231 / 25–34
RH %56 / 50–6154 / 47–6154 / 43–6258 / 41–6460 / 43–6664 / 52–7167 / 59–7267 / 60–7166 / 59–6963 / 52–6960 / 50–6656 / 50–63

Each figure is the median across the 486 grid cells holding the 833 in-range records, with the 10th–90th percentile span across those cells after the slash where it differs. Extremes and elevation were read at the typical cell 1568:5174 (11.575, 78.725). Over 44 years there: absolute minimum 12.7 °C, 1st-percentile night 15.2 °C, 99th-percentile day 42.2 °C. Normals: CHELSA V2.1 1981–2010 climatology, 0.05° cells (each the mean of ~36 1 km pixels). Envelope: median and 10th–90th percentile of each month across the 486 distinct grid cells holding the 833 in-range records; extremes and elevation at the typical cell 1568:5174 (its coldest month's mean night nearest the median across cells); its position is the cell centre. Extremes: NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell 11.50_78.750, lapse-corrected -117 m at 6.5 °C/km. Elevation: ETOPO 2022, 174 m (cell mean).

Natural habitat

Native range as published by WCVP; the marker is where the records are densest and decides nothing: the climate was read across every in-range record's cell, not at the marker.
Openly licensed records inside the range, framed on where they fall.
NativeAssam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Myanmar, Malaya· introduced: Mozambique, Chagos Archipelago, Mauritius, Réunion, Afghanistan, Iran, Palestine, China South-Central, China Southeast, Laccadive Is., Maldives, Sri Lanka, Andaman Is., Cambodia, Laos, Nicobar Is., Thailand, Vietnam, Marianas, Hawaii, Florida, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela
Kew's description“tree” · “seasonally dry tropical”· quoted from WCVP, RBG Kew (CC BY 4.0); not derived here
Map marker9.383, 76.641 · in the densest population, 231 records (27% of those in range)
Evidence usedThe map marker and the climate envelope rest on all 845 georeferenced records inside the native range; the map shows only the 586 openly licensed ones, which alone would put the marker 1 km away. 221 records outside the range (gardens, roadsides, misidentifications) ignored. 12 in-range records are placed to worse than 10 km and stay on the map but off the climate.
The map markerthe map marker: the openly licensed record nearest the middle of the densest 1° population of the 845 in-range records; it decides nothing.

Photographs

Ficus religiosaFicus religiosaFicus religiosaFicus religiosaFicus religiosaFicus religiosaFicus religiosaFicus religiosa

Photographs: no rights reserved · CC0 (4); (c) Sam Kieschnick, some rights reserved (CC BY) (3); (c) Daniel Cahen, some rights reserved (CC BY).

Photographs: iNaturalist did not answer when this page was built; what is shown came from the sources that did.

Papers naming this species

Works whose title or abstract names Ficus religiosa, most cited first, from OpenAlex (CC0). A mention, not a cultivation source: nothing on this page is drawn from them.

Determination of Antioxidants by DPPH Radical Scavenging Activity and Quantitative Phytochemical Analysis of Ficus religiosa
Siddartha Baliyan, Riya Mukherjee, Anjali Priyadarshini, Arpana Vibhuti (2022) · Molecules
Anticancer activity of Ficus religiosa engineered copper oxide nanoparticles
Sankar Renu, Ramasamy Maheswari, Karthik Selvaraju, Kanchi Subramanian Shivashangari (2014) · Materials Science and Engineering C
Characterization of a new cellulosic natural fiber extracted from the root of Ficus religiosa tree
A. Arul Marcel Moshi, D. Ravindran, S.R. Sundara Bharathi, S. Indran (2019) · International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
Traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of Ficus religiosa: A review
Damanpreet Singh, Bikram Singh, Rajesh Kumar Goel (2011) · Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Biosorption of lead from aqueous solution by Ficus religiosa leaves: Batch and column study
Suleman Qaiser, A.R. Saleemi, Muhammad Umar (2008) · Journal of Hazardous Materials
Seasonal Variation of Leaf Dust Accumulation and Pigment Content in Plant Species Exposed to Urban Particulates Pollution
Santosh Kumar Prajapati, B.D. Tripathi (2008) · Journal of Environmental Quality
Actinoalloteichus nanshanensis sp. nov., isolated from the rhizosphere of a fig tree (Ficus religiosa)
Wensheng Xiang, Chongxi Liu, Xiangjing Wang, Jing Du (2010) · INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC AND EVOLUTIONARY MICROBIOLOGY
Antidiabetic effect of Ficus religiosa extract in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats
Rucha Pandit, Ashish Phadke, Aarti G. Jagtap (2010) · Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Traditional Indian Medicines Used for the Management of Diabetes Mellitus
Syed Ibrahim Rizvi, Neetu Mishra (2013) · Journal of Diabetes Research
Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Efficacy of Some Medicinal Plants Against Food Borne Pathogens
Rachel Christina Preethi, Vasudharani Devanathan, L. Muruganandam (2010)
Antibacterial Activities of Some Medicinal Plants of the Western Region of India
Rathish Nair, Sumitra Chanda (2007) · DergiPark (Istanbul University)

Similar habitat climate the 6 species whose habitat climate is nearest this one's: mean day and night, month by month, and rain on a log scale, in calendar order, so a habitat with the same seasons six months out is far, not near. Nothing else counts: not range, not family.

Other Ficus 18 in the reference

History & registers

Where this page came from built 2026-09-20 · dossier v2 · node
gbif.species answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
gbif.synonyms answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
gbif.vernacular answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
wcvp.distribution answered
gbif.occurrences answeredGBIF occurrence download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.3h4zam
climate answered
wikidata answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
wikipedia answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19; this build: skipped
inat.taxon not asked
inat.photos.wild answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19; this build: skipped
inat.photos.cultivated nothing to reportcarried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
commons nothing to reportcarried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
gbif.media answered
openalex answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19; this build: skipped

Every upstream is recorded as having answered, reported nothing, or refused. Only “nothing to report” is ever shown as an absence. Records came from 35 datasets via GBIF.org; each carries its own licence.