A banyan, also spelled "banian",[1]<span> is a </span>fig<span> that begins its life as an </span>epiphyte,[2]<span> i. e. a plant that grows on another plant, when its </span>seed<span> germinates in a crack or crevice of a host tree or human edifice. "Banyan" often specifically denominates </span>Ficus benghalensis<span> (the "Indian banyan"), which is the </span>national tree<span> of the </span>Republic of India,[3]<span> though the name also has been generalized to denominate all figs that share a common life cycle and used </span>systematically<span> in </span>taxonomy<span> to denominate the </span>subgenus Urostigma.<span>[4]</span>Aerial roots<span> are roots above the ground. They are almost always </span>adventitious<span>. They are found in diverse plant species, including </span>epiphytes<span> such as </span>orchids<span>, tropical coastal swamp trees such as </span>mangroves<span>, the resourceful </span>banyan<span> trees, the warm-temperate rainforest rātā (</span>Metrosideros robusta) and pōhutukawa (M. excelsa<span>) trees of </span>New Zealand<span> and </span>vines<span> such as Common Ivy (</span>Hedera helix<span>) and </span>poison ivy<span> (</span>Toxicodendron radicans<span>). </span>
The competitive exclusion principle states that two species cannot occupy the same niche. When two species compete for the same habitat and resources, the end result is that one species eliminates the other.
