Sacred Fig Bodhi Tree Trivia Questions

The original tree was destroyed, but saplings from it were replanted. The present tree is a verified descendant, grown from a cutting of the original.

Sacred Fig fruits are small, inedible figs that are not used in cuisine; the tree is revered, not harvested for food.

The leaf stalks (petioles) are extremely long and flexible, causing the leaves to tremble and rustle with the slightest air movement or thermal currents.

Sacred Figs typically live 200–300 years; the Sri Maha Bodhi is about 2,300 years old, an exceptional case due to constant care.

Sacred Fig (Ficus religiosa) has heart-shaped leaves and lacks the prominent aerial roots typical of banyan trees (Ficus benghalensis).

The sapling was actually planted at Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu in 1913, not at a temple.

The tree was damaged by a storm in 1876 but was not destroyed; it was later replaced by a cutting from the same tree.

After the original tree was destroyed, a cutting from the Sri Maha Bodhi—a tree grown from a branch of the original Bodhi tree—was planted at Bodh Gaya. Thus, the current tree is a direct descendant.