Chinese banyan
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Middling It gives warning, with time to act.
Also called Curtain Fig, Gajumaru, Gajumaru Indian Laurel, ginseng, glossy-leaf fig, Indian laurel, Laurel Fig, Malayan Banyan, Maylay banyan and Small fruited fig.
Chinese banyan is toxic
- Toxic to cats. Toxic principle: Proteolytic enzyme (ficin), psoralen (ficusin). ASPCA ASPCA names the genus (Ficus sp.), not the species.
- Toxic to dogs. Toxic principle: Proteolytic enzyme (ficin), psoralen (ficusin). ASPCA ASPCA names the genus (Ficus sp.), not the species.
- Toxic to people. Can cause skin allergy. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it. RHS
What the sources say about its care
- Light
- Full sunRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Moist but well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H1B — 10–15°C 10–15 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- ToxicASPCA names the genus (Ficus sp.), not the species.ASPCA, filed as Ficus sp. · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- ToxicASPCA names the genus (Ficus sp.), not the species.ASPCA, filed as Ficus sp. · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- Can cause skin allergy. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it.RHS · read 13 September 2026
How it usually goes wrong
- Faded, yellow-white areas on the sunny side of the canopy
Scorched leaves on the Chinese banyan turn from pale to brown and brittle, and the damage stops where the shade of another leaf fell across it.
Even a plant described as full sun can take more through glass than it would outdoors, because glass removes the breeze that carried the heat away.
Telling it apart: Whether the patches grow. Scorch is done once it happens; a leaf spot keeps spreading.
RHSChinese banyan leaves turning yellow: causes- Leaf tips go crisp and brown
Tips first on a Chinese banyan, then margins. Affected tissue is papery and slightly curled, and the damage stops rather than advancing once conditions change.
Heated air holds less water than the plant loses into it, so moisture leaves the leaf faster than it arrives. Penn State Extension cites ASHRAE's indoor range of 30% to 60% relative humidity, and winter heating often takes a room below it.
Telling it apart: Where the plant stands. Browning concentrated on the side facing a heater points at the air.
Penn State ExtensionDiagnose brown tips and edges on this Chinese banyan- The canopy yellows from below and the pot stays heavy
A sour smell from the compost is common on a Chinese banyan, and the leaves deepest inside the canopy come away when pulled. The surface may look dry while everything beneath it is not.
Roots sitting in water run out of oxygen, and the first sign above ground is the oldest leaves being given up. Its source describes moist but well-drained soil, which is air as much as water.
Telling it apart: Whether the drainage hole drips when the pot is tilted. Water still running out days later is the answer.
RHSChinese banyan leaves turning yellow: causes
Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for Chinese banyan.
Routine care
- Watering
- Cuttings root easily, either in water or straight in sand or potting soil.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Propagation
- Cuttings root easily, whether in water or straight into sand or potting soil.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Increase from seed, or from semi-hardwood or leaf-bud cuttings.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Can be troubled by fern scale, Cuban laurel thrips and banded greenhouse thrips.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Under glass, scale insects, mealybugs, thrips and glasshouse red spider mite can occur. Diseases: honey fungus can occur.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
Ficus microcarpa, also known as Chinese banyan, Hill's weeping fig, small-fruited fig, Malayan banyan, Indian laurel, or curtain fig, is a species of banyan tree in the family Moraceae. Its native range is from India to China and Japan, through Southeast Asia and the western Pacific to the state of Queensland in Australia, and it has been introduced to parts of the Americas and the Mediterranean. It was first described in 1782, and is a culturally significant plant in a number of Asian countries.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- Trop. & Subtrop. Asia to W. PacificWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026tropical and subtropical AsiaNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Ryukyu Is, Micronesia, Solomon Is, New Caledonia, SE AsiaRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- wet tropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- Perennial, Shrub, Tree; habit dense, multi-stemmed, multi-trunked, rounded, spreadingNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Bushy (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 24–600 in; width 24–480 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height Higher than 12 metres; spread wider than 8 metres after 20–50 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers gold/yellow, greenNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers green in summerRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Uses
What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.
Used in medicine in parts of Asia. It is also a shade tree, which is why it is often grown as an indoor tree and as bonsai.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Common problems with Chinese banyan
Other Ficus
Common figA thin dry rim that crumbles between the fingers
Creeping figLeaf blade tips go crisp and brown
Fiddle-leaf figEdges of the leaf blades brown while the middle stays sound
Rubber plantCrisp margins that appear in winter
Ara BanyanSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
Banana leaf figSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
More of the Moraceae family
Congo FigSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
Delta FigSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
- No photograph yetFicus binnendykiiSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
Indian LaurelSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
Peepul TreeSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
- No photograph yetWeeping figEdges of the leaves brown while the middle stays sound
Plants with similar care
AvocadoDry scorched spots after a move into a sunnier spot
Coffee plantLeaf tips go crisp and brown
Crape myrtleCrisp margins that appear in winter
Japanese mapleDry, curled edges on leaves near a heater
Norfolk Island pineBleached patches on the side facing the glass
OliveA thin dry rim that crumbles between the fingers
Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.