The Great Banyan
22°33′39″N 88°17′12″E / 22.5608°N 88.2868°E
| The Great Banyan | |
|---|---|
The Great Banyan Tree | |
| Species | Banyan (Ficus benghalensis) |
| Location | Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, Shibpur, Howrah |
| Height | 24 m (79 ft) |
| Date seeded | before 1800 |
The Great Banyan is a banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis) located in Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, Shibpur, Howrah, near Kolkata, India. The great banyan tree draws more visitors to the garden than its collection of exotic plants from five continents. Its main trunk became infected by fungi after it was struck by two cyclones. In 1925, the main trunk was removed to keep the remainder of the tree healthy. A 330-metre-long (1,080 ft) road was built around its circumference, but the tree continues to spread beyond it.
It was recorded to be the largest tree specimen in the world in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1989.