Ficus religiosa, Arayal, Arasu, Sacred fig, അരയാൽ, അരശ്

Family: Moraceae
Vernacular names: Arayal, Arasu, അരയാൽ, അരശ് (Malayalam), Sacred fig (English), Pippala (Sanskrit), Pipal (Hindi), Arasu (Tamil)
Distribution: East Himalayas; planted and naturalized in India and neighboring countries
Description: Stranglers. Leaves simple, alternate, spiral. Flowers unisexual; inflorescence a syconia, sessile, axillary, in pairs, obovoid or globose; flowers of 4 kinds; male flowers ostiolar, sessile, in one ring, reddish; female flowers sessile. Syconium ripening pink, purple or black; achenes smooth.
Habit: Tree
Habitat: Widely planted in temple premises
Flowering & Fruiting: November-February

Parts used: Bark, leaves, tender shoots, fruits, seeds and latex
Properties & Uses: Bitter, cooling, aphrodisiac and anti-inflammatory. Ripe fruit is used for the treatment of burning sensations, thirst, biliousness, leucorrhea, diseases of blood and heart. Root is good for gout; the root bark is useful in stomatitis, ulcers and leucorrhea. Fruit is laxative and helps digestion. Paste of powdered bark is used in inflammatory swellings, skin diseases and glandular swelling of the neck. Leaves are purgative.
Systems of Medicines: Ayurveda, Folk, Unani, Homeo,
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