Peepul

or Botree, the sacred fig tree of farther India. It is closely related to the famous banyan. It is held in veneration by the priests of Buddha, and is planted around his temples. An ancient tree of this sort in Ceylon is said to have been planted 288 B. C. There is reason to believe that it is over 2,000 years old. It is certainly the oldest tree in Asia. The people believe that it was grown from a branch of the very tree under which Buddha himself reclined. It is guarded with the utmost veneration. As fast as they fall, the leaves are carried away as souvenirs. No impious hand or sacrilegious knife is allowed to reach its branches.