Banyan - other uses

Banyan trees have been used or investigated for a wide variety of uses, from paper and rubber to hair conditioners and ornaments.

Multipurpose tree

A photograph of the milky sap from a banyan tree used as a rubber alternative in India. This specimen is housed in Kew's Economic Botany Collection.

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Image: Milky sap from the banyan tree was used as an inferior alternative to rubber in India.

The banyan yields an inferior rubber, and the sticky milk is used to make bird lime. In the Indo-Nepal Terai region, the milky sap is used for polishing copper, brass and bronze ornaments.

The wood of banyan is suitable for the paper pulp, and in Assam and Madras, paper has been prepared using the bark. Fibre has also been made from the bark and aerial roots of banyan in India to make rope for tying bundles of wood.

Women of the Indo-Nepal Terai region crush the prop root of the banyan into a paste with elephants dung and apply it to their head to promote a long and luxurious hair growth. Shellac is used in hair laquer and lac dye is used as a skin cosmetic.

Shellac has a huge number of industrial uses in roles as an adhesive, primer, sealer and for surface finishes.