Eden Illustrated


Words: Helen Lannon, Kim Mackintosh and Robert Lowe


Illustrations: Diggy Smerdon


Sacred fig | Ficus religiosa Growing up to 30 metres high and with a diameter


Ficus religiosa is venerated by Hindus and Jains, but Buddhists probably have the strongest claim. One of its many names is the Bodhi tree, or ‘tree of awakening’, because for 49 days the Indian prince Siddartha Gautama meditated beneath its large heart-shaped leaves before attaining enlightenment. Henceforth Gautama took the name ‘Awakened One’ or Buddha, and the Bodhi tree was often used to represent the Buddha before adherents began to make statues. A complex of temples has grown around Bodh Gaya, the spot where Siddartha Gautama once sat, but the original Bodhi tree has been replaced many times, despite some examples living hundreds of years.


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of three metres, Ficus religiosa is a member of the mulberry family. Its small dark cherry-sized fruit is used in traditional medicine, and the seeds are sometimes turned into prayer beads. Leaves from the sacred fig at Bodh Gaya have been known to change hands for US $10 each – it seems money can grow on trees after all. Our Ficus religiosa can be found just beyond


the Malaysian Home Garden in the Rainforest Biome. It has been heavily pruned to counteract its tendency to lean, so much so that one of our Living Landscapes Team describes it as ‘a very large Bonsai tree’. There is a bench nearby in case you are in need of enlightenment. RL


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