Ficus ingens
Red-leaved fig | |
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A specimen exhibiting a rock-splitting habit, and a flush of red new leaves | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Rosales |
Family: | Moraceae |
Genus: | Ficus |
Species: | F. ingens
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Binomial name | |
Ficus ingens (Miq.) Miq. 1867
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Synonyms[1] | |
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Ficus ingens, the red-leaved fig, is a fig species with an extensive range in the subtropical to dry tropical regions[2] of Africa and southern Arabia.[3] Despite its specific name, which means "huge", or "vast", it is usually a shrub or tree of modest proportions.[4] It is a fig of variable habit depending on the local climate and substrate, typically a stunted subshrub on elevated rocky ridges, or potentially a large tree on warmer plains and lowlands. In 1829 the missionary Robert Moffat found a rare giant specimen, into which seventeen thatch huts of a native tribe were placed, so as to be out of reach of lions.[5][note 1][note 2]
Distribution and habitat
It is widespread in northern and eastern
Description
The smooth and leathery, dull-green leaves are narrowly ovate oblong, bright red brown when young,
The almost spherical figs are produced year-round but mainly in summer.[5] They are 0.9 to 1.2 cm[11] in diameter and carried on very short stalks, just below or among the terminal cluster of leaves.[10] They ripen first to a white and eventually a purple[8] or yellowish-brown colour.[9]
The smooth bark is pale grey, while younger branches have a yellow tinge.[10] Bruised or cut stems and leaves exude a non-toxic, milky latex.[9]
Habit and variation
It is deciduous or semi-deciduous and may form a subshrub or shrub, or may form a rounded crown, upwards of 5 meters tall, in sheltered conditions.
Uses and species interactions
In northern Nigeria the figs, and in Kenya the leaves and figs, have been recorded as famine food.[12] In South Africa a decoction of the bark mixed with cow feed is said to increase the flow of milk,[13] though the leaves have been shown to be toxic to cattle, and sometimes to sheep.[11] When ripe, the figs are readily eaten by several species of bird.[10] The pollinator wasp is Platyscapa soraria Wiebes., while Otitesella longicauda and O. rotunda are non-pollinators.[3]
Similar species
It is similar to the Wonderboom fig, which has a broadly overlapping range and occurs in comparable habitat. They differ with respect to leaf shape, venation and colour, besides the size and colour of the figs. The Wonderboom is always a tree,[4] and has elliptic-oblong leaves with a rounded bases, that are never bright red-brown.[8] Its figs are much smaller and mature to yellow-red. The Natal fig has the base of the leaf narrowly tapered.[4]
Gallery
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Subshrub on sunny slope
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Foliage
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Figs
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Fig placement
Notes
- ^ Moffat relates it thus: "My attention was arrested by a beautiful and gigantic tree [a species of ficus], standing in a defile ... Seeing some individuals employed under its shade ... and houses in miniature protruding through its evergreen foliage, I proceeded thither, and found that the tree was inhabited by several families of Bakones, ... I ascended by the notched trunk, and found, to my amazement, no less than seventeen of these aerial abodes, and three others unfinished. On reaching the topmost [30 feet up], I entered, and sat down. I asked a woman who sat at the door permission to eat [a bowl full of locusts]. This she granted with pleasure, ... and soon brought me more ... Several more females came from the neighbouring roosts, stepping from branch to branch, to see the stranger, ... I then visited the different abodes, which were on several principal branches. ... A person can nearly stand upright in it: the diameter of the floor is about six feet [with] a little square space before the door." See: Moffat, Robert (1842). Missionary Labours and Scenes in Southern Africa. J. Snow. pp. 519–520: The inhabited tree.
- ISBN 0621083674.
References
- ^ "The Plant List".
- ^ a b c "Ficus ingens (Miq.) Miq". African Plant Database. Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques & South African National Biodiversity Institute. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ^ a b van Noort, S., Rasplus, J. "Ficus ingens (Miquel) Miquel 1867". Figweb. isiko museums. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ ISBN 0-86977-081-0.
- ^ a b c d Jordaan, Marie. "Ficus ingens (Miq.) Miq". PlantZAfrica.com. SANBI. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
- ^ "Records: Ficus ingens (Miq.) Miq". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
- ^ De Winter, B. & M.; Killick, D. J. B. (1966). Sixty-Six Transvaal Trees. National Tree List for South Africa. pp. 24–25.
- ^ ISBN 0-620-05468-9.
- ^ ISBN 0-85494-236-X.
- ^ ISBN 0-85494-426-5.
- ^ a b Myburgh, J. G.; et al. (1994). "A nervous disorder in cattle cause by the plants Ficus ingens var. ingens and Ficus cordata subsp. salicifolia" (PDF). Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research (61): 171–176. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ^ Freedman, Robert. "Famine Foods: Moraceae". Purdue Agriculture. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
- ISBN 978-1420089677.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
External links
- Media related to Ficus ingens at Wikimedia Commons