Among the varieties of the banyan, or burr tree, is the _peipal_, or
_ficus religiosa_, which is not uncommon in Guzzerat, and causes a
singular variety of vegetation. It may be considered as belonging to the
order of creepers, and often springs round different trees, particularly
the palmyra, or palm. The latter growing through the center of a
banyan-tree, looks extremely grand. The peipal frequently shoots from
old walls, and runs along them, so as to cause a singular phenomenon of
vegetation. In the province of Bahar, one of these trees was seen by an
English traveler, on the inside of a large brick well, the whole
circumference of the internal space of which it lined, and thus actually
became a tree turned inside out. A banyan-tree thus inverted is
uncommon; but the general usefulness and beauty of this variety,
especially in overshadowing the public wells and village markets, can
only be known by those who live in a sultry climate.