Ficus religiosa n 1: fig tree of India noted for great size and longevity; lacks the prop roots of the banyan; regarded as sacred by Buddhists [syn: pipal, pipal tree, pipul, peepul, sacred fig, bo tree, Ficus religiosa]

Peepul tree \Pee"pul tree`\ [Hind. p[=i]pal, Skr. pippala.] (Bot.) A sacred tree ({Ficus religiosa}) of the Buddhists, a kind of fig tree which attains great size and venerable age. See Bo tree}. [Written also pippul tree, and pipal tree.]

Bo tree \Bo" tree`\ (Bot.) The peepul tree; esp., the very ancient tree standing at Anurajahpoora in Ceylon, grown from a slip of the tree under which Gautama is said to have received the heavenly light and so to have become Buddha. The sacred bo tree of the Buddhists ({Ficus religiosa}), which is planted close to every temple, and attracts almost as much veneration as the status of the god himself. . . . It differs from the banyan ({Ficus Indica}) by sending down no roots from its branches. --Tennent.

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