The aerial roots growing on the branches extend down into the soil to form a new trunk, which is called "column root". The banyan tree is 30 meters high and can stretch in all directions indefinitely. In the tropics, the roots and branches of its pillars are intertwined, which looks like a dense jungle, so it is called "single-tree forest".
Banyan is a big tree with a height of 15-25m, DBH 50cm and a broad crown. Old trees usually have rusty brown air roots. The bark is dark gray. Leaves are thin leathery, narrowly elliptic, 4-8 cm long and 3-4 cm wide, with blunt apex, wedge-shaped base, dark green surface, dark brown after drying, glossy, entire, extended basal veins and 3- 10 pairs of lateral veins; Petiole 5- 10 mm long, glabrous; Stipules small, lanceolate, about 8 mm long.
Fig fruits are axillary in pairs or in deciduous leaves, yellow or reddish at maturity, oblate, 6-8 mm in diameter, without peduncle, 3 bracts at the base, broadly ovoid and persistent; Male flowers, female flowers and gall flowers are all born in a fig fruit, and there are several short bristles between flowers; Male flowers are sessile or stipitate, with scattered inner walls and filaments as long as anthers; The female flower is similar to the gall flower, with 3 perianth segments, wide oval shape, lower part of style, short stigma and rod shape. Achenes are ovoid. Flowering period may-June.
Extended data:
Although Huangguoshu can bear fruit every year, its seeds are very small and threshing is very difficult, so it is often propagated by cutting or layering.
Cutting of Huangguoshu
When a large number of seedlings are raised in South China and Southwest China, cuttings are often carried out in the open seedbed in rainy season, and the survival rate can reach over 95%. In the north, in early May, annual branches can be cut off in flowerpots, wooden boxes or seedbeds.
That is, cut off branches in three sections, leave 1-2 leaves at the tip, insert them into plain sand, shade and maintain them, spray water 1-2 times a day to improve air humidity and pay attention to wind protection. After 20 days, you can take root one after another, and after 45 days, you can take the seedlings and put them in pots.
Huangguoshu layering
In order to cultivate large seedlings, layering can be carried out by using the soft characteristics of large branches of Huangguoshu. First, put a big flowerpot near the mother plant, which is filled with pot soil, and then choose a well-shaped big lateral branch to bend down and bury it in the flowerpot.
When a stone is pressed on it, the buried part can take root without being scratched. After 2 months, it can be cut from the mother body to form a larger potted plant. You can also select a few thick lateral branches from the crown of the mother plant for high-pressure propagation, which is not only quick to form, but also simple to operate.
Banyan trees grow fast and have strong branching ability. If you want to raise the stump bonsai well, the key is how to control their growth, keep the established posture and prevent the branches from growing in vain.
So don't change pots and soil every year, let alone apply too much fertilizer, trim new branches at any time, and increase the density of branchlets and leaves without expanding the crown width. Only when the old roots in the basin die or the leaves fall off in large quantities can the basin be removed and replaced with soil. At the same time, the roots and lateral branches are strongly pruned to germinate new branches, leaves and roots again, and the plants are completely updated.