Ficus

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(Redirected from
Fig tree
)
For the species commonly known as the "ficus tree", see Ficus benjamina. For sea snails, see Ficus (gastropod). For Monroe Ficus, see Too Close for Comfort.
"Fig tree" redirects here. For the 2009 film, see Fig Trees.

Fig trees
Temporal range: Maastrichtian–Present
Sycamore fig, Ficus sycomorus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Moraceae
Tribe: Ficeae
Dumort.
Genus: Ficus
L.
Species

About 800, see text

Synonyms[1]
  • Boscheria Carruth. (1872)
  • Bosscheria de Vriese & Teijsm. (1861)
  • Caprificus Gasp. (1844)
  • Covellia Gasp. (1844)
  • Cystogyne Gasp. (1845)
  • Dammaropsis Warb. (1891)
  • Erosma Booth (Booth): 113 (1847)
  • Erythrogyne Vis. (1845)
  • Galoglychia Gasp. (1844)
  • Gonosuke Raf. (1838)
  • Macrophthalma Gasp. (1845)
  • Mastosuke Raf. (1838)
  • Necalistis Raf. (1838)
  • Oluntos Raf. (1838)
  • Perula Raf. (1838), nom. illeg.
  • Pharmacosycea Miq. (1848)
  • Plagiostigma Zucc. (1846), nom. illeg.
  • Pogonotrophe Miq. (1847)
  • Rephesis Raf. (1838)
  • Stilpnophyllum (Endl.) Drury (1869)
  • Sycomorphe Miq. (1844)
  • Sycomorus Gasp. (1845)
  • Synoecia Miq. (1848)
  • Tenorea Gasp. (1844), nom. illeg.
  • Tremotis Raf. (1838)
  • Urostigma Gasp. (1844), nom. superfl.
  • Varinga Raf. (1838)
  • Visiania Gasp. (1844)

Ficus (

bushfood
. However, they are extremely important food resources for wildlife. Figs are also of considerable cultural importance throughout the tropics, both as objects of worship and for their many practical uses.

Description

Aerial roots that may eventually provide structural support
Ficus carica
(common fig)
The stipule of Ficus religiosa. The white stipule contains a new leaf and a new stipule.

Ficus is a pantropical genus of trees, shrubs, and vines occupying a wide variety of ecological niches; most are evergreen, but some deciduous species are found in areas outside of the tropics and to higher elevations.[5] Fig species are characterized by their unique inflorescence and distinctive pollination syndrome, which uses wasp species belonging to the family Agaonidae for pollination.

Specific identification of many of the species can be difficult, but members of the genus Ficus are relatively easy to recognize. Many have aerial roots and a distinctive shape or habit, and their fruits distinguish them from other plants. The fruit of Ficus is an inflorescence enclosed in an urn-like structure called a syconium, which is lined on the inside with the fig's tiny flowers that develop into multiple ovaries on the inside surface.[6] In essence, the fig fruit is a fleshy stem with multiple tiny flowers that fruit and coalesce.

The unique fig

stipules
—or circular scars if the stipules have fallen off; the lateral veins at the base of the leaf are steep, forming a tighter angle with the midrib than the other lateral veins, a feature referred to as "triveined".

No unambiguous older

extant
species, however, may have taken place more recently, between 20 and 40 million years ago.

Some better-known species that represent the diversity of the genus include.alongside the

creeping fig
(F. pumila), a vine whose small, hard leaves form a dense carpet of foliage over rocks or garden walls.

Moreover, figs with different plant habits have undergone

biogeographic regions, leading to very high levels of alpha diversity. In the tropics, Ficus commonly is the most species-rich plant genus in a particular forest. In Asia, as many as 70 or more species can co-exist.[8] Ficus species richness declines with an increase in latitude in both hemispheres.[9][10]

A description of fig tree cultivation is set out in Ibn al-'Awwam's 12th-century agricultural work titled, Book on Agriculture.[11]

Ecology

Figs are

List of foliage plant diseases (Moraceae)
.

Fig fruit and reproduction system

See also:
Common fig
common fig
fruit
Cut through of a ripe common fig

Many fig species are grown for their fruits, though only

disputed – discuss] A fig "fruit" is a type of multiple fruit known as a syconium, derived from an arrangement of many small flowers on an inverted, nearly closed receptacle. The many small flowers are unseen unless the fig is cut open.[citation needed
]

The fruit typically has a bulbous shape with a small opening (the ostiole) at the outward end that allows access to pollinators. The flowers are pollinated by very small wasps that crawl through the opening in search of a suitable place to lay eggs. Without this pollinator service fig trees could not reproduce by seed. In turn, the flowers provide a safe haven and nourishment for the next generation of wasps. This accounts for the frequent presence of wasp larvae in the fruit, and has led to a coevolutionary relationship. Technically, a fig fruit proper would be only one of the many tiny matured, seed-bearing gynoecia found inside one fig – if you cut open a fresh fig, individual fruit will appear as fleshy "threads", each bearing a single seed inside. The genus Dorstenia, also in the fig family (Moraceae), exhibits similar tiny flowers arranged on a receptacle but in this case the receptacle is a more or less flat, open surface.[citation needed]

Fig plants can be

gynodioecious (hermaphrodite and female).[12] Nearly half of fig species are gynodioecious, and therefore have some plants with inflorescences (syconium) with long styled pistillate flowers, and other plants with staminate flowers mixed with short styled pistillate flowers.[13] The long-styled flowers tend to prevent wasps from laying their eggs within the ovules, while the short-styled flowers are accessible for egg laying.[14]

All the native fig trees of the American continent are hermaphrodites, as well as species like

Mediterranean region they were considered food for goats (Capra aegagrus). In the female fig trees, the male flower parts fail to develop; they produce the "'edible figs". Fig wasps grow in common fig caprifigs but not in the female syconiums because the female flower is too long for the wasp to successfully lay her eggs in them. Nonetheless, the wasp pollinates the flower with pollen from the caprifig it grew up in. When the wasp dies, it is broken down by enzymes (Ficain
) inside the fig. Fig wasps are not known to transmit any diseases harmful to humans.

When a caprifig ripens, another caprifig must be ready to be pollinated. In temperate climes, wasps hibernate in figs, and there are distinct crops. Caprifigs have three crops per year; common figs have two.

parthenocarpic cultivars of common figs do not require pollination at all, and will produce a crop of figs (albeit sterile
) in the absence of caprifigs and fig wasps.

Depending on the species, each fruit can contain hundreds or even thousand of seeds.[18] Figs can be propagated by seeds, cuttings, air-layering or grafting. However, as with any plant, figs grown from seed are not necessarily genetically identical to the parent and are only propagated this way for breeding purposes.

Mutualism with the pollinating fig wasps

Further information: Reproductive coevolution in Ficus
Ficus exasperata, fruits

Each species of fig is pollinated by one or a few specialised wasp species, and therefore plantings of fig species outside of their native range results in effectively sterile individuals. For example, in Hawaii, some 60 species of figs have been introduced, but only four of the wasps that fertilize them, so only those species of figs produce viable seeds there and can become invasive species. This is an example of mutualism, in which each organism (fig plant and fig wasp) benefit each other, in this case reproductively.[citation needed]

The intimate association between fig species and their wasp pollinators, along with the high incidence of a one-to-one plant-pollinator ratio have long led scientists to believe that figs and wasps are a clear example of coevolution. Morphological and reproductive behavior evidence, such as the correspondence between fig and wasp larvae maturation rates, have been cited as support for this hypothesis for many years.[19] Additionally, recent genetic and molecular dating analyses have shown a very close correspondence in the character evolution and speciation phylogenies of these two clades.[7]

According to meta-analysis of molecular data for 119 fig species 35% (41) have multiple pollinator wasp species. The real proportion is higher because not all wasp species were detected.

cryptic wasp species. Not all these cryptic species are sister taxa and thus must have experienced a host fig shift at some point.[22] These cryptic species lacked evidence of genetic introgression or backcrosses indicating limited fitness for hybrids and effective reproductive isolation and speciation.[22]

The existence of cryptic species suggests that neither the number of symbionts nor

their evolutionary relationships are necessarily fixed ecologically.[22] While the morphological characteristics that facilitate the fig-wasp mutualisms are likely to be shared more fully in closer relatives, the absence of unique pairings would make it impossible to do a one-to-one tree comparison and difficult to determine cospeciation.[citation needed
]

Systematics

With over 800 species, Ficus is by far the largest genus in the Moraceae, and is one of the largest genera of flowering plants currently described.

Sycomorus.[25]

This traditional classification has been called into question by recent

phylogenetic studies employing genetic methods to investigate the relationships between representative members of the various sections of each subgenus.[7][24][26][27][28] Of Corner's original subgeneric divisions of the genus, only Sycomorus is supported as monophyletic in the majority of phylogenetic studies.[7][24][27] Notably, there is no clear split between dioecious and monoecious lineages.[7][24][26][27][28] One of the two sections of Pharmacosycea, a monoecious group, form a monophyletic clade basal to the rest of the genus, which includes the other section of Pharmacosycea, the rest of the monoecious species, and all of the dioecious species.[28] These remaining species are divided into two main monophyletic lineages (though the statistical support for these lineages is not as strong as for the monophyly of the more derived clades within them). One consists of all sections of Urostigma except for section Urostigma s. s.. The other includes section Urostigma s. s., subgenus Sycomorus, and the species of subgenus Ficus, though the relationships of the sections of these groups to one another are not well resolved.[7][28]

Selected species

Main article: List of Ficus species

As of April 2024, there are 880 accepted Ficus species according to Plants of the World Online.[1]

Subgenus Ficus

Subgenus Pharmacosycea

Subgenus Sycidium

Subgenus Sycomorus

Subgenus Synoecia

The following species[29] are typically spreading or climbing lianas:

Subgenus Urostigma

Unknown subgenus

Uses

The wood of fig trees is often soft and the

herbalism.[citation needed] The inner bark of an unknown type of wild fig, locally known as urú, was once used by the Moré people [es] of Bolivia to produce a fibrous cloth used for clothing.[38]

Figs have figured prominently in some human cultures. There is evidence that figs, specifically the

Jordan Valley, 13 km, or 8.1 mi, north of Jericho). These were a parthenogenetic type and thus apparently an early cultivar. This find predates the first known cultivation of grain in the Middle East by many hundreds of years.[39]

Cultivation

Numerous species of fig are found in cultivation in domestic and office environments, including:[40]

  • F. carica
    , common fig – hardy to −10 °C (14 °F). Shrub or small tree which can be grown outdoors in mild temperate regions, producing substantial harvests of fruit. Many cultivars are available.
  • F. benjamina, weeping fig, ficus – hardy to 5 °C (41 °F). Widely used as an indoor plant for the home or the office. It benefits from the dry, warm atmosphere of centrally-heated interiors, and can grow to substantial heights in a favoured position. Several variegated cultivars are available.
  • F. elastica, rubber plant – hardy to 10 °C (50 °F): widely cultivated as a houseplant; several cultivars with variegated leaves
  • F. lyrata, fiddle-leaf fig – hardy to 10 °C (50 °F)
  • F. maclellandii – hardy to 5 °C (41 °F)
  • F. microcarpa, Indian laurel – hardy to 10 °C (50 °F)
  • F. pumila, creeping fig – hardy to 1 °C (34 °F)
  • F. rubiginosa, Port Jackson fig – hardy to 10 °C (50 °F)

Cultural and spiritual significance

Further information: Fig leaf and Figs in the Bible

Fig trees have profoundly influenced culture through several religious traditions. Among the more famous species are the

Deut. 8). Jesus cursed a fig tree for bearing no fruit (Mark 11:12–14). The fig tree was sacred in ancient Greece and Cyprus, where it was a symbol of fertility.[citation needed
]

List of famous fig trees

Citations

  1. ^ a b "Ficus Tourn. ex L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  2. ^ "ficus". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  3. ISBN 978-0-37603-851-7
    .
  4. CollinsDictionary.com. HarperCollins
    .
  5. ISBN 978-0-8493-3916-5
    . Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  6. ^ "Ficus: The Remarkable Genus Of Figs". Archived from the original on 2009-12-11. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Rønsted et al. (2005).
  8. ^ Harrison (2005).
  9. ^ van Noort & van Harten (2006).
  10. ^ Berg & Hijmann (1989).
  11. OCLC 780050566. (pp. 277
    –281 (Article XXV)
  12. ^ Armstrong, Wayne P; Disparti, Steven (4 April 1998). "A Key to Subgroups of Dioecious* (Gynodioecious) Figs Based On Fig Wasp/Male Syconium Pollination Patterns". Wayne's Word. Archived from the original on 2012-02-02. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  13. ISBN 978-87-7304-304-2
    .
  14. PMID 28563939
    .
  15. ^ Berg & Corner (2005).
  16. ^
    ISBN 978-0-12-227055-0
    .
  17. ^ California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc. (1996): Fig Archived 2020-10-31 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  18. ^ "The Weird Sex Life of the Fig" (PDF). Ray's Figs. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  19. PMID 11321056
    .
  20. PMID 25495152
    .
  21. PMID 15851680
    .
  22. ^
    PMID 12714682
    .
  23. ISBN 978-0-87893-407-2
    .
  24. ^
    PMID 10991904
    . Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  25. ^ Corner, E.J.H. (1965). "Check-list of Ficus in Asia and Australasia with keys to identification". The Gardens' Bulletin Singapore. 21 (1): 1–186. Retrieved 5 Feb 2014 – via biodiversitylibrary.org.
  26. ^
    doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.1996.tb00014.x
    .
  27. ^
    S2CID 1962136
    .
  28. ^ a b c d Rønsted et al. (2008).
  29. ^ Berg (2003).
  30. ^ Berg (2003), p. 552.
  31. ^ Berg (2003), p. 554.
  32. ^ Berg (2003), p. 553.
  33. ^ Berg (2003), pp. 565.
  34. ^ Berg (2003), pp. 553–554.
  35. ^ Carauta & Diaz (2002), pp. 38–39.
  36. ^ a b van Noort, S.; Rasplus, J.Y. (2020). "Subsection Conosycea". Figweb: figs and fig wasps of the world. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  37. ^ Joseph Lai; Angie Ng; Chuah Ai Lin; Marilyn Cheng (12 September 2002). "Significant Trees and Shrubs in Changi". Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  38. ^ Castedo, Luis D. Leigue (1957). El Itenez Selvaje (PDF) (in Spanish). La Paz: Ministerio de Educación. p. 9, 16, 19, 23.
  39. ^ Kislev, Hartmann & Bar-Yosef (2006).
  40. ISBN 9781405332965
    .
  41. ^ Tukol, T.K. (1980). Compendium of Jainism. Prasaranga: Karnatak University. p. 206.
  42. ^ "The Bodhi Tree: Uniting all Worlds". Buddhists.org. Retrieved 17 January 2020.

General references

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ficus.

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