What is the difference between a banyan tree and a Ficus tree?

What is the difference between a banyan tree and a Ficus tree?

The original Banyan tree is Ficus benghalensis and native to India. According to Ficus, the exotic species by Ira Condit, the term Banyan is also used to refer to any Fig that begins its life as an epiphyte – meaning growing on another plant. You might be familiar with Strangler Fig – this is the same.

What is the common name of Opuntia ficus-indica?

Cactus Pear

UPOV Principal Botanical Name: Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.
Other Botanical Names: (Opuntia Group 1)
English Common Names: Cactus Pear (Opuntia Group 1); Indian Fig; Prickly Pear (Opuntia Group 1)
French Common Names: Figuier de Barberie (Opuntia Groupe 1)
German Common Names: Feigenkaktus (Opuntia Gruppe 1); Kaktusfeige

Where does Opuntia ficus-indica grow?

Opuntia ficus-indica – (L.) Mill.

Common Name Prickly Pear, Barbary fig
Habitats Naturalized in the Mediterranean where it grows in dry arid and rocky places[89].
Range Original habitat is obscure.
Edibility Rating (3 of 5)
Other Uses (0 of 5)

Is Opuntia ficus-indica edible?

Cladodes, which are the flattened stems of the plant, are consumed as vegetables when they are young and tender, or used to feed cattle when they become older. These edible parts of the plant are currently used to produce a large variety of products.

What is banyan tree best known for?

The banyan is native to the Indian Subcontinent. It is India’s national tree and is considered to be sacred by many in the country. These trees are best known for having some of the widest canopy coverage on Earth and for there aerial roots which grow downwards.

Is banyan tree good for home?

Banyan Tree (Ficus Benghalensis) These plants are also not recommended as per Vastu shastra. These plants are also not good to plant logically, near your home because they are very strong and even have the strength to hamper the architect of your home with its strong root.

Is Opuntia a desert plant?

Desert plants like opuntia are able to grow in extreme conditions.

How can you tell Opuntia?

Opuntia are easily recognized by their flat paddle-shaped stem segments called cladodes that grow one on top of the other. The edge and flat surfaces of these cladodes are covered with areoles that always have tiny, easily detached spines called glochids.

How tall can opuntia grow?

Varieties range from 6- to 12-inch tall, 18-inch wide low-growing cactus to 10- to 15-foot tall trees.

How fast do Opuntia ficus-indica grow?

Prickly pear is best planted outside in the spring after the threat of frost has passed. Some prickly pears produce fruits that are prized for their edibility, but the plant’s growth rate is fairly slow and it can take three or four years before a new plant starts fruiting. Opuntia spp.

Are all Opuntia species edible?

The pads and fruits of all cactus species under the genus Opuntia are edible. For most other cacti- however- only the fruits are safe to eat.

What is the size of a ficus indica?

O. ficus-indica is a large trunk-forming segmented cactus which can attain a height of 5–7 m with a crown of over 3 m in diameter and a trunk up to 1 m in diameter. Cladodes (flat stem segments) are green to blue-green, whereas the terminal cladodes are always bright green and produce the flowers and new growth.

What is Opuntia ficus indica?

Opuntia ficus-indica is a prickly pear species derived from several wild ancestors. It is generally a spineless prickly pear, but some cultivars have spines. O. ficus-indica is a large plant (tall and woody). It is actually a collection of Opuntia cultivars rather than a discrete species.

What is ficus indica used for?

One special use of O. ficus-indica is as a host for the cochineal insect (Dactylopius spp.). These scale insects grow on the surface of the plants. The female insects produce a red exudate (carminic acid) that may be a defensive chemical.

What is the difference between ficus indica and cactus pear?

Spineless forms of cactus pear are used in cultivation because they are always vegetatively reproduced whereas the main means of the spread of the spiny weedy O. ficus-indica is by seeds ( Annecke and Moran, 1978 ).