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|status = LC
|status = LC
|status_system = IUCN3.1
|status_system = IUCN3.1
|status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn | author1 = Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) | author2 = IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group | name-list-style = amp | title = ''Ficus racemosa'' | page = e.T145362959A145371147 | year = 2019 | accessdate = 1 October 2020}}</ref>
|status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). |author2=IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group |date=2019 |title=''Ficus racemosa'' |volume=2019 |page=e.T145362959A145371147 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T145362959A145371147.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
|genus = Ficus
|genus = Ficus
|parent = Ficus subg. Sycomorus
|parent = Ficus subg. Sycomorus
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}}
}}


'''''Ficus racemosa''''', the '''cluster fig''', '''red river fig''' or '''gular''',<ref name=EPPO>{{cite web | title = ''Ficus racemosa'' | url = https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/FIURM | publisher = [[European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization]] (EPPO) | access-date = 1 December 2020}}</ref> is a species of plant in the family [[Moraceae]]. It is native to Australia and tropical Asia. It is a fast-growing plant with large, very rough leaves, usually attaining the size of a large shrub, although older specimens can grow quite large and gnarled. It is unusual in that its figs grow on or close to the tree trunk, termed [[cauliflory]].
⚫
'''''Ficus racemosa''''' is a species of plant in the family [[Moraceae]]. Commonly known as the '''cluster fig tree''', '''Indian fig tree''' or '''goolar (gular) fig''', it is native to Australia and tropical Asia. It is unusual in that its figs grow on or close to the tree trunk, termed [[cauliflory]]. In India, the tree and its fruit are called ''gular'' in the north and ''atti'' in the south. The fruits are a favourite staple of the [[rhesus macaque|common Indian macaque]]. It serves as a food plant for the caterpillars of the two-brand crow [[butterfly]] (''[[Euploea sylvester]]'') of northern Australia.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia |url=https://archive.org/details/The_Complete_Field_Guide_to_Butterflies_of_Austra8lia |last=Braby |first=Michael F.|year=2005 |publisher=CSIRO Publishing |location=Collingwood, Victoria |isbn=0-643-09027-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/The_Complete_Field_Guide_to_Butterflies_of_Australia/page/n204 194]}}</ref>

⚫
The fruits are commonly eaten as a vegetable after the seeds have been discarded, and made into stir-fries and curries. The fruits are a favourite staple of the [[rhesus macaque|common Indian macaque]]. It serves as a food plant for the caterpillars of the two-brand crow [[butterfly]] (''[[Euploea sylvester]]'') of northern Australia.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia |url=https://archive.org/details/The_Complete_Field_Guide_to_Butterflies_of_Austra8lia |last=Braby |first=Michael F.|year=2005 |publisher=CSIRO Publishing |location=Collingwood, Victoria |isbn=0-643-09027-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/The_Complete_Field_Guide_to_Butterflies_of_Australia/page/n204 194]}}</ref>


==In Hinduism==
==In Hinduism==
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According to the [[Shatapatha Brahmana]], the Audumbara tree was created from the force of [[Indra]], the leader of the gods that came out of his flesh when he overindulged in [[Soma (drink)|soma]]:
According to the [[Shatapatha Brahmana]], the Audumbara tree was created from the force of [[Indra]], the leader of the gods that came out of his flesh when he overindulged in [[Soma (drink)|soma]]:


''From his hair his thought flowed, and became millet; from his skin his honour flowed, and became the aśvattha tree (ficus religiosa); '''from his flesh his force flowed, and became the udumbara tree (ficus glomerata)'''; from his bones his sweet drink flowed, and became the nyagrodha tree (ficus indica); from his marrow his drink, the Soma juice, flowed, and became rice: in this way his energies, or vital powers, went from him.'' <ref>https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/satapatha-brahmana-english/d/doc63479.html</ref>
''From his hair his thought flowed, and became millet; from his skin his honour flowed, and became the aśvattha tree (Ficus religiosa); '''from his flesh his force flowed, and became the udumbara tree (Ficus glomerata)'''; from his bones his sweet drink flowed, and became the nyagrodha tree (Ficus indica); from his marrow his drink, the Soma juice, flowed, and became rice: in this way his energies, or vital powers, went from him.'' <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/satapatha-brahmana-english/d/doc63479.html|title = Satapatha Brahmana, Kanda XII, adhyaya 7, brahmana 1|date = 18 July 2013}}</ref>


In the [[Atharva Veda]], this fig tree ([[Sanskrit]]: ''Umbara'' or ''Audumbara'')<ref>[[Monier Monier-Williams|Monier-Williams, Monier]] (1899, 1964). ''A Sanskrit-English Dictionary'' (London: Oxford University Press), pp. 175, 186. Retrieved 19 Nov 2008 from "Cologne University" at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0175-ujjha.pdf and http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0186-udaya.pdf.</ref> is given prominence as a means for acquiring prosperity and vanquishing foes.<ref>See, e.g., Shyam Singh Shashi (1999), ''Encyclopaedia Indica '' (Anmol Publications), Ch. 9 "The Tree Cult," esp. pp. 241, 244-46. Retrieved 19 Nov 2008 from "Google Books" at https://books.google.com/books?id=jMmYDrm_7NAC&pg=PA245&lpg=PA245&dq=%22Atharva+Veda%22+%2Budumbara&source=bl&ots=fFDRDDKwjG&sig=Cz2M4dHwRFAE7Kq5EvltRO2sbV0&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result#PPA247,M1.</ref> For instance, regarding an amulet of the ''Audumbara'' tree, a hymn ([[Atharvaveda|AV]] xix, 31) extols:
In the [[Atharva Veda]], this fig tree ([[Sanskrit]]: ''Umbara'' or ''Audumbara'')<ref>[[Monier Monier-Williams|Monier-Williams, Monier]] (1899, 1964). ''A Sanskrit-English Dictionary'' (London: Oxford University Press), pp. 175, 186. Retrieved 19 Nov 2008 from "Cologne University" at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0175-ujjha.pdf and http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0186-udaya.pdf.</ref> is given prominence as a means for acquiring prosperity and vanquishing foes.<ref>See, e.g., Shyam Singh Shashi (1999), ''Encyclopaedia Indica '' (Anmol Publications), Ch. 9 "The Tree Cult," esp. pp. 241, 244-46. Retrieved 19 Nov 2008 from "Google Books" at https://books.google.com/books?id=jMmYDrm_7NAC&dq=%22Atharva+Veda%22+%2Budumbara&pg=PA245</ref> For instance, regarding an amulet of the ''Audumbara'' tree, a hymn ([[Atharvaveda|AV]] xix, 31) extols:
:The Lord of amulets art thou, most mighty: in the wealth's
:The Lord of amulets art thou, most mighty: in the wealth's
::ruler that engendered riches,
::ruler that engendered riches,
Line 37: Line 39:


==In Buddhism==
==In Buddhism==
{{main|Audumbara (Buddhism)}}
{{Main|Udumbara (Buddhism)}}
Both the tree and the flower are referred to as the '''''Audumbara''''' ([[Sanskrit]], [[Pali]]; [[Devanagari]]: औदुंबर) in [[Buddhism]].<ref name="McCullough">{{cite book |last = McCullough
Both the tree and the flower are referred to as the '''''Audumbara''''' ([[Sanskrit]], [[Pali]]; [[Devanagari]]: औदुंबर) in [[Buddhism]].<ref name="McCullough">{{cite book |last = McCullough
|first = Helen Craig
|first = Helen Craig
|author-link =
|author2 = Murasaki Shikibu
|author2 = Murasaki Shikibu
|title = Genji and Heike: Selections from The Tale of Genji and The Tale of the Heike
|title = Genji and Heike: Selections from The Tale of Genji and The Tale of the Heike
|publisher = Stanford University Press
|publisher = Stanford University Press
|year = 1994
|year = 1994
|location =
|isbn = 0-8047-2258-7
|isbn = 0-8047-2258-7
|page = [https://archive.org/details/genjiheikeselect00mccu/page/94 94]
|page = [https://archive.org/details/genjiheikeselect00mccu/page/94 94]
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| publisher = Tuttle Publishing
| publisher = Tuttle Publishing
| year = 1996
| year = 1996
| location =
| pages = 783
| pages = 783
| isbn = 0-8048-2058-9
| isbn = 0-8048-2058-9
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[[File:Indian Giant Flying Squirrel captured at Polo Forests, Sabarkantha, Gujarat India.jpg|thumb|[[Indian Giant Flying Squirrel]] feeding on figs at Polo forest, [[Gujarat]], India]]
[[File:Indian Giant Flying Squirrel captured at Polo Forests, Sabarkantha, Gujarat India.jpg|thumb|[[Indian Giant Flying Squirrel]] feeding on figs at Polo forest, [[Gujarat]], India]]


The [[Ovambo people]] call the fruit of the cluster fig ''eenghwiyu'' and use it to distill ''ombike'', their traditional liquor.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.newera.com.na/articles/48705/Ombike---a-potent-traditional-brew |title = Ombike – a potent traditional brew |last = Shaanika |first = Helvy |date = 26 October 2012 |newspaper = [[New Era (Namibia)|New Era]] |url-status = dead |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20121028101820/http://www.newera.com.na/articles/48705/Ombike---a-potent-traditional-brew |archivedate = 28 October 2012 }}</ref>
The [[Ovambo people]] call the fruit of the cluster fig ''eenghwiyu'' and use it to distill ''ombike'', their traditional liquor.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.newera.com.na/articles/48705/Ombike---a-potent-traditional-brew |title = Ombike – a potent traditional brew |last = Shaanika |first = Helvy |date = 26 October 2012 |newspaper = [[New Era (Namibia)|New Era]] |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121028101820/http://www.newera.com.na/articles/48705/Ombike---a-potent-traditional-brew |archive-date = 28 October 2012 }}</ref>


===Health uses===
===Other uses===
The bark of {{transl|hi|audumbar}} ({{transl|hi|oudumbar}}) tree is said{{by who?|date=July 2020}} to have healing power. In countries like India, the bark is rubbed on a stone with water to make a paste, which can be applied over afflicted by boils or mosquito bites. Allow the paste to dry on the skin and reapply after a few hours. For people whose skin is especially sensitive to insect bites, this is a very simple [[home remedy]].
The bark of ''Ficus racemosa'' is used as a [[home remedy]]. In India, the bark is rubbed on a stone with water to make a paste, which can be applied to boils or mosquito bites. Allow the paste to dry on the skin and reapply after a few hours. The rough leaves of the plant can also be used to remove caterpillar bristles lodged in skin. A common folk remedy is to rub the affected area lightly with a leaf, which effectively dislodges the stinging hairs.


==References==
==References==

Latest revision as of 13:40, 9 January 2024

"Udumbara" redirects here. For other uses, see Udumbara (disambiguation).

Ficus racemosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Moraceae
Genus: Ficus
Subgenus: F. subg. Sycomorus
Species:
F. racemosa
Binomial name
Ficus racemosa
Synonyms

Ficus glomerata Roxb.

Ficus racemosa, the cluster fig, red river fig or gular,[2] is a species of plant in the family Moraceae. It is native to Australia and tropical Asia. It is a fast-growing plant with large, very rough leaves, usually attaining the size of a large shrub, although older specimens can grow quite large and gnarled. It is unusual in that its figs grow on or close to the tree trunk, termed cauliflory.

The fruits are commonly eaten as a vegetable after the seeds have been discarded, and made into stir-fries and curries. The fruits are a favourite staple of the common Indian macaque. It serves as a food plant for the caterpillars of the two-brand crow butterfly (Euploea sylvester) of northern Australia.[3]

In Hinduism[edit]

According to the Shatapatha Brahmana, the Audumbara tree was created from the force of Indra, the leader of the gods that came out of his flesh when he overindulged in soma:

From his hair his thought flowed, and became millet; from his skin his honour flowed, and became the aśvattha tree (Ficus religiosa); from his flesh his force flowed, and became the udumbara tree (Ficus glomerata); from his bones his sweet drink flowed, and became the nyagrodha tree (Ficus indica); from his marrow his drink, the Soma juice, flowed, and became rice: in this way his energies, or vital powers, went from him. [4]

In the Atharva Veda, this fig tree (Sanskrit: Umbara or Audumbara)[5] is given prominence as a means for acquiring prosperity and vanquishing foes.[6] For instance, regarding an amulet of the Audumbara tree, a hymn (AV xix, 31) extols:

The Lord of amulets art thou, most mighty: in the wealth's
ruler that engendered riches,
These gains are lodged in the, and all great treasures. Amulet,
conquer thou: far from us banish malignity and indigence,
and hunger.
Vigour art thou, in me do thou plant vigour: riches art thou, so
do thou grant me riches.
Plenty art thou, so prosper me with plenty: House-holder, hear
a householder's petition.[7]

It has been described in the story of Raja Harischandra of the Ikshvaku dynasty, that the crown was a branch of this Audumbara tree, set in a circlet of gold. Additionally, the throne (simhasana) was constructed out of this wood and the royal personage would ascend it on his knee, chanting to the gods to ascend it with him, which they did so, albeit unseen.

The tree has been worshipped as Abode under which Lord Dattatreya teaches that to teach first learn from others however small or big. There is always something to be learnt from One and to learn new things one has to learn to unlearn as per the time. The tree is seen planted in all the places associated with Lord Dattatreya who is seen as an icon Rishi a sage who represents all the three of the trinity of Hinduism: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva (Creator, Preserver and destroyer) needed for each one to learn by unlearning the obsolete. this is the plan of evolution in analogy. Its leaves are an indispensable part of many Hindu havans.

In Buddhism[edit]

Main article: Udumbara (Buddhism)

Both the tree and the flower are referred to as the Audumbara (Sanskrit, Pali; Devanagari: औदुंबर) in Buddhism.[8] Udumbara can also refer to the blue lotus (nila-udumbara, "blue udumbara") flower. The udumbara flower appears in chapters 2 and 27 of the Lotus Sutra, an important Mahayana Buddhist text. The Japanese word udon-ge (優曇華, literally "udon/udumbara flower") was used by Dōgen Zenji to refer to the flower of the udumbara tree in chapter 68 of the Shōbōgenzō ("Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma"). Dōgen places the udonge in the context of the Flower Sermon given by Gautama Buddha on Vulture Peak. Udonge is also used to refer to the eggs of the lacewing insect. The eggs are laid in a pattern similar to a flower, and its shape is used for divination in Asian fortune telling.[9]

In Theravada Buddhism, the plant is said[by whom?] to have used as the tree for achieved enlightenment (bodhi) by the 26th Lord Buddha, Konaagama (Sinhala: කෝණාගම).

Uses[edit]

Lion-tailed macaque feeding on a fig
Pickled and halved gular figs in Vietnam
Indian Giant Flying Squirrel feeding on figs at Polo forest, Gujarat, India

The Ovambo people call the fruit of the cluster fig eenghwiyu and use it to distill ombike, their traditional liquor.[10]

Other uses[edit]

The bark of Ficus racemosa is used as a home remedy. In India, the bark is rubbed on a stone with water to make a paste, which can be applied to boils or mosquito bites. Allow the paste to dry on the skin and reapply after a few hours. The rough leaves of the plant can also be used to remove caterpillar bristles lodged in skin. A common folk remedy is to rub the affected area lightly with a leaf, which effectively dislodges the stinging hairs.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).; IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group (2019). "Ficus racemosa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T145362959A145371147. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T145362959A145371147.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Ficus racemosa". European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  3. ^ Braby, Michael F. (2005). The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing. p. 194. ISBN 0-643-09027-4.
  4. ^ "Satapatha Brahmana, Kanda XII, adhyaya 7, brahmana 1". 18 July 2013.
  5. ^ Monier-Williams, Monier (1899, 1964). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary (London: Oxford University Press), pp. 175, 186. Retrieved 19 Nov 2008 from "Cologne University" at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0175-ujjha.pdf and http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0186-udaya.pdf.
  6. ^ See, e.g., Shyam Singh Shashi (1999), Encyclopaedia Indica (Anmol Publications), Ch. 9 "The Tree Cult," esp. pp. 241, 244-46. Retrieved 19 Nov 2008 from "Google Books" at https://books.google.com/books?id=jMmYDrm_7NAC&dq=%22Atharva+Veda%22+%2Budumbara&pg=PA245
  7. ^ Ralph T. H. Griffith (trans.) (1895-6). Hymns of the Atharva Veda, pp. 236-7. Retrieved 19 Nov 2008 from "Sacred Texts" at http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/av/av19031.htm.
  8. ^ McCullough, Helen Craig; Murasaki Shikibu (1994). Genji and Heike: Selections from The Tale of Genji and The Tale of the Heike. Stanford University Press. p. 94. ISBN 0-8047-2258-7.
  9. ^ Hadamitzky, Wolfgang; Spahn, Mark (1996). The Kanji Dictionary. Tuttle Publishing. p. 783. ISBN 0-8048-2058-9.
  10. ^ Shaanika, Helvy (26 October 2012). "Ombike – a potent traditional brew". New Era. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012.

External links[edit]

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