Banyan Tree

The Banyan – known as Bargad, Barh, or Borh locally – is a true icon of Karachi. These long lived trees have populated Karachi’s streets since the late 19th century, when they were planted by the Gujarati Baniya community who set up shop beneath the mighty tree. This is where the name Banyan comes from. Banyan trees can live many centuries with some believed to be in excess of a 1000 years old. 

Banyan trees are perhaps Karachi’s largest tree, both in height and in width. A quick visit along Shahrah-e-Iran confirms this fact: the larger Banyans dwarf all things around it. The Karachi Zoo Banyan has now become a site for a ‘Forest Cafe’ where diners sit by the great tree.

As a keystone species, the Banyan tree has special ecological importance, being able to support a wide variety of other species around it. Its wide expanse provides an excellent place for birds to nest and its small fruits nourish the animals around it.

One particularly novel feature of the Banyan is its aerial roots and that it can multiply itself from them. These long brown beards hang down from the tree, and when they touch the ground they can form into new trunks of the tree! In this way Banyan trees can cover several acres by developing new limbs this way. In Urban areas this isn’t as common since there usually is a lack of open space around trees, thereby preventing the Banyan from establishing new trunks.