I just got a Ficus religiousa tree that is a clone from the original tree that Gautama Buddha meditated under when he attained enlightenment sometime around 528 BC. The original tree in Bodhgaya, India was destroyed, but not before cuttings were taken from it. One of these cuttings was sent to Sri Lanka in 288 BC, planted and is still alive today! (A cutting from the Sri Lanka tree is now growing in place of the original tree in Bodhgaya.) This tree is the oldest living cultivated tree known in the world (2296 years old) and has been under armed guard for centuries in Anuradhapura. Many years ago Foster's Garden in Honolulu requested and received a cutting where it grows today. The University of California requested and received a cutting from Foster's and the tree grew for many years. However, the tree was destroyed to make way for some kind of campus construction project! (What were they thinking???) Fortunately a Buddhist temple in Los Angeles made cuttings before the tree was removed and is growing a tree from them today. The plant I got today is a cutting from that tree. (What's interesting is that no one knows how old the original tree was before Buddha sat under it. For all we know, it could have been a 1000 years old or older at that point!)

Anyway, I thought it was a cool story and wanted to share it.

Here's a photo. (The figs are quite good to eat!)

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