- Leaf surface
- Close up of bud
- Ripening fruit
- Trunk
- Branches
- Jōmon period basket made from Ficus erecta about 8,000 years ago
Ficus erecta | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Fruit | |
![]() | |
1823 illustration by Yūshi Ishizaki | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Rosales |
Family: | Moraceae |
Genus: | Ficus |
Species: | F. erecta |
Binomial name | |
Ficus erecta | |
Synonyms [2] | |
List
|
Ficus erecta (syn. Ficus beecheyana), the Japanese fig, is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae. [3] It is found in the eastern Himalayas, Assam, Bangladesh, Vietnam, southern China, Taiwan, Jeju Island of South Korea, the Ryukyu Islands, and Japan. [2] A deciduous (or semideciduous) shrub or small tree from 2 to 7 m (7 to 23 ft) in height, it is found alongside streams. [4] Said to be dioecious, it has small fruit that are 1.0 to 2.5 cm (0.4 to 1.0 in) in diameter, and quite sweet. [4] [5] It is pollinated by the fig wasp Blastophaga nipponica .[ citation needed ]
The fruit is eaten by local people. Its bark fibre can be used to make paper, and it is occasionally planted as an ornamental tree. [4] [5] It is highly resistant to Ceratocystis fimbriata , which causes Ceratocystis canker in the common fig Ficus carica , so its genome has been sequenced to aid in the breeding of resistant strains of F. carica. [6]