The roots of a banyan tree are

Roots that develop from parts of the plant other than the radicle (the embryonic root of the seed) — such as the stem, branches, or leaves — are called adventitious roots. This is the broad category under which several specialised, function-based root types are further classified.

1. In the banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis), thick pillar-like roots grow downward from the spreading horizontal branches.

2. On reaching the soil, these roots penetrate it and thicken into sturdy, trunk-like columns.

3. Because these support roots arise from the branches/stem and not from the primary (radicle) root, they belong to the adventitious root category; this specific sub-type is also called a prop root.

4. The prop roots mechanically support the banyan's massive, widely spreading canopy, letting a single tree cover a very large area.

• Climbing roots: thin roots that arise from the nodes of a weak, trailing stem and cling to a nearby support (for example, betel, black pepper, money plant) — very different from the thick, ground-anchoring pillar roots of a banyan.

• Stilt roots: emerge obliquely from the lower stem nodes near ground level to brace the base of the plant (for example, maize, sugarcane, screw pine/pandanus) — they originate low on the stem, not from branches high above the ground.

• Breathing roots (pneumatophores): grow upward out of waterlogged, oxygen-poor soil to enable gas exchange (for example, mangrove species like Rhizophora) — the opposite direction and purpose of the banyan's downward-growing support roots.

The banyan's downward-growing branch-roots fit the broad, defining criterion for adventitious roots — arising from a non-root plant part — so Adventitious roots is the correct classification.