Living root bridges of Meghalaya

What it is

Aerial roots of Ficus elastica are guided through hollowed areca trunks across streams until they intertwine and root on the far bank, forming a bridge that strengthens with age. Some carry dozens of people and last for centuries.

The first written description (Henry Yule, 1844) fixes the lower bound; the age of the living bridges, from decades to perhaps centuries, is hard to date and oral tradition exceeds the written record.

What it led to

• crossing monsoon rivers where dead timber rots
• self-repairing living structures
• current interest in living architecture and bioengineering

Links

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_root_bridge