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Ara Banyan

Ficus benghalensis, Moraceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called Banyan, Banyan Tree, Bengal Fig, bo tree, East Indian fig tree, grove tree, Indian banyan, Indian Banyan Tree, Indian fig, pagoda tree and Strangler Fig.

Ara Banyan (Ficus benghalensis), the whole plant.
Bapak Alex, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Ara Banyan is toxic

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • 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 sun
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Water
Moist but well-drained
RHS · 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.

H1A — warmer than 15°C 15 °C
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or Neutral
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
Can cause skin allergy. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
Water once the soil has dried in its top 2 to 3 inches. Water thoroughly, make sure drainage is good, and tip out any water left standing in the tray.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
During growth water moderately; keep moist through winter.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Feeding
Feed with liquid fertilizer in the growing season, spring to summer. Pollination is done by fig wasps, specialized insects that push through the ostiole, spreading pollen and fertilizing the female flowers.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
This houseplant can be propagated by air layering or stem cuttings.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
In spring sow seed at 18-21°C after soaking it for 12 hours, or in spring or summer root semi-ripe cuttings over bottom heat. Cut plants bleed latex; seal them by dipping in charcoal powder.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Under glass, scale insects, mealybugs, thrips and glasshouse red spider mite can occur. Diseases: honey fungus can occur.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Move something and watch

Loading the simulator. It needs JavaScript; the care table above does not.

Ara Banyan (Ficus benghalensis) growing in a pot.
In a potRasitha nellickal, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Ficus benghalensis, Ficus indica, or Ficus audrey commonly known as banyan, banyan fig, audrey fig and Indian banyan, is a tree native to the Indian subcontinent. Specimens in India are among the largest trees in the world by canopy coverage. It is also known as a "strangler fig" because like many other trees in the genus Ficus it starts out as epiphyte, that is, leaning on another tree that it ends up enveloping.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Indian Subcontinent
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
India Subcontinent and Andaman Islands
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Climate
seasonally dry tropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
tree
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Epiphyte, Tree, Vine; habit erect, horizontal, multi-stemmed, multi-trunked, spreading
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Spreading branched (evergreen)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height up to 1200 in; width up to 3600 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Height Higher than 12 metres; spread wider than 8 metres after more than 50 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers gold/yellow; blooms in spring
NC State Extension · 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.

The Bengal fig is sacred in India, China and Southeast Asia; it is also a treatment for diabetes, snake bites, skin conditions and digestive complaints.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Other Ficus

More of the Moraceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

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.