Ficus pumila

Last updated

Creeping fig
Ficus pumila (Leafs).jpg
F. pumila foliage
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Moraceae
Tribe: Ficeae
Genus: Ficus
Subgenus: F. subg. Synoecia
Species:
F. pumila
Binomial name
Ficus pumila
L. 1753 not Thunb. 1786
Synonyms [1]
List
  • Ficus hanceanaMaxim.
  • Ficus longipedicellataH.Perrier
  • Ficus pumila var. lutchuensisKoidz.
  • Ficus repens var. lutchuensisKoidz.
  • Ficus scandensLam.
  • Ficus stipulataThunb. 1786
  • Ficus stipulataLem. 1843
  • Ficus vestitaDesf.
  • Plagiostigma pumilaZucc.
  • Plagiostigma stipulataZucc.
  • Tenorea heterophyllaGasp.
  • Urostigma scandens(Lam.) Liebm.
  • Varinga repensRaf.

Ficus pumila, commonly known as the creeping fig or climbing fig, is a species of flowering plant in the mulberry family, native to East Asia (China, Japan, Vietnam) [2] and naturalized in parts of the southeastern and south-central United States. [3] [4] It is also found in cultivation as a houseplant. The Latin specific epithet pumila means "dwarf", [5] and refers to the very small leaves of the plant.

Contents

Description

Ficus pumila is a woody evergreen liana, growing to 2.5–4 m (8 ft 2 in – 13 ft 1 in). It can grow up to 9–12 m (30–39 ft) tall if it isn't regularly pruned. [6] The juvenile foliage is much smaller and thinner than mature leaves produced as the plant ages. The leaves are oval, cordate, asymmetrical, with opposite veins. It is creeping or can behave like a liana and also climb trees, rocks, etc. up to 4 m in height or more. The aerial roots secrete a translucent latex that hardens on drying, allowing the sticks to adhere to their support.[ citation needed ]

Cultivation

As the common name, "creeping fig" indicates, the plant has a creeping/vining habit and is often used in gardens and landscapes where it covers the ground and climbs up trees and walls. It is hardy down to 1 °C (34 °F) [7] and does not tolerate frost. Therefore in temperate regions it is often seen as a houseplant. It is fast-growing and requires little in the way of care. It can be invasive when environmental conditions are favorable. Its secondary roots or tendrils can cause structural damage to certain buildings with fragile mortar or structures made of fragile materials.

It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [8]

The plant requires the fig wasp Blastophaga pumilae for pollination, and is fed upon by larvae of the butterfly Marpesia petreus .[ citation needed ]

Varieties and cultivars

Cuisine

The fruit of Ficus pumila var. awkeotsang is used in cuisine. In Taiwan, its fruit is turned inside out and dried. The seeds are scraped off and a gel is extracted from their surface with water and allowed to set and form a jelly known in Taiwan as aiyu jelly (or aiyuzi 愛玉子) and in Singapore as ice jelly (文頭雪).

Toxicity

Like other plant species in the family Moraceae, contact with the milky sap of Ficus pumila can cause phytophotodermatitis, [9] a potentially serious skin inflammation. Although the plant is not poisonous per se, F. pumila is listed in the FDA Database of Poisonous Plants. [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Ficus</i> Genus of flowering plants in the mulberry family Moraceae

Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The common fig (F. carica) is a temperate species native to southwest Asia and the Mediterranean region, which has been widely cultivated from ancient times for its fruit, also referred to as figs. The fruit of most other species are also edible though they are usually of only local economic importance or eaten as 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.

<i>Ficus benjamina</i> Species of fig

Ficus benjamina, commonly known as weeping fig, benjamin fig or ficus tree, and often sold in stores as just ficus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to Asia and Australia. It is the official tree of Bangkok. The species is also naturalized in the West Indies and in the states of Florida and Arizona in the United States. It is one of the most common trees in Israeli cities and parks. In its native range, its small fruit are favored by some birds.

<i>Ficus microcarpa</i> Species of fig

Ficus microcarpa, also known as Chinese banyan, Malayan banyan, Indian laurel, curtain fig, or gajumaru (ガジュマル), is a tree in the fig family Moraceae. It is native in a range from China through tropical Asia and the Caroline Islands to Australia. It is widely planted as a shade tree and frequently misidentified as F. retusa or as F. nitida.

<i>Dictamnus albus</i> Species of flowering plant

Dictamnus albus is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae. It is also known as burning bush, dittany, gas plant or fraxinella. This herbaceous perennial has several geographical variants. It is native to warm, open woodland habitats in southern Europe, north Africa and much of Asia.

<i>Ficus elastica</i> Species of banyan tree

Ficus elastica, the rubber fig, rubber bush, rubber tree, rubber plant, or Indian rubber bush, Indian rubber tree, is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to eastern parts of South and Southeast Asia. It has become naturalized in Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and the US state of Florida. Despite its common names, it is not used in the commercial production of natural rubber.

<i>Clivia miniata</i> Species of flowering plant

Clivia miniata, the Natal lily or bush lily, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Clivia of the family Amaryllidaceae, native to woodland habitats in South Africa and Eswatini. It is also widely cultivated as an ornamental.

<i>Aglaonema</i> Genus of flowering plants

Aglaonema is a genus of flowering plants in the arum family, Araceae. They are native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and New Guinea. They are known commonly as Chinese evergreens.

<i>Dracaena reflexa</i> Species of flowering plant

Dracaena reflexa is a tree native to Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, and other nearby islands of the Indian Ocean. It is widely grown as an ornamental plant and houseplant, valued for its richly coloured, evergreen leaves, and thick, irregular stems.

<i>Ficus lyrata</i> Species of flowering plant in the fig and mulberry family Moraceae

Ficus lyrata, commonly known as the fiddle-leaf fig, banjo fig, fiddle-leaved fig tree, lyre leaf fig tree, or lyre-leaved fig tree, is a species of plant in the mulberry and fig family Moraceae. It is native to western Africa, but is cultivated around the world as an ornamental plant. It has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aiyu jelly</span> Jelly popular in Taiwan and Singapore

Aiyu jelly, known in Amoy Hokkien as ogio, and as ice jelly in Singapore, is a jelly made from the gel from the seeds of the awkeotsang creeping fig found in Taiwan and East Asian countries of the same climates and latitudes. The jelly is not commonly made or found outside of Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore, though it can be bought fresh in specialty stores in Japan and canned in Chinatowns. It is also used in Taiwanese cuisine.

<i>Stephanotis floribunda</i> Species of flowering plant

Stephanotis floribunda syn. S. jasminoides, the Madagascar jasmine, waxflower, Hawaiian wedding flower, or bridal wreath is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae, native to Madagascar. It is a twining, sparsely branched liana that can measure up to 6 m in length.

<i>Ficus pumila <span style="font-style:normal;">var.</span> awkeotsang</i> Variety of climbing fig

Ficus pumila var. awkeotsang, also known as the jelly fig, aiyu, or ai-yu, is a variety of Ficus pumila, and a member of the fig family Moraceae, native to Taiwan. The plant is known for its use in making aiyu jelly.

<i>Fittonia albivenis</i> Species of plant

Fittonia albivenis is a species of flowering plant in the family Acanthaceae, native to the rainforests of Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and northern Brazil. An evergreen perennial, it is notable for its dark green foliage with strongly contrasting white or red veins. It is commonly called nerve plant or mosaic plant. In temperate regions where the temperature falls below 10 °C (50 °F) it must be grown as a houseplant.

<i>Aucuba japonica</i> Species of plant

Aucuba japonica, commonly called spotted laurel, Japanese laurel, Japanese aucuba or gold dust plant (U.S.), is a shrub native to rich forest soils of moist valleys, thickets, by streams and near shaded moist rocks in China, Korea, and Japan. This is the species of Aucuba commonly seen in gardens - often in variegated form. The leaves are opposite, broad lanceolate, 5–8 cm (2.0–3.1 in) long and 2–5 cm (0.79–1.97 in) wide. Aucuba japonica are dioecious. The flowers are small, 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) diameter, each with four purplish-brown petals; they are produced in clusters of 10-30 in a loose cyme. The fruit is a red drupe approximately 1 cm (0.39 in) in diameter that is avoided by birds.

<i>Ficus montana</i> Species of fig

Ficus montana is a species of subtropical climbing fig plant. Leaves are 3 to 5 inches long. The leaves are shaped like oak leaves which gives its common name. It is grown as a houseplant, in offices and in shopping malls. It is slow growing. It is often confused with the tiny F. pumila quercifolia, which is a vining species that creeps on the surface of soil. The Latin specific epithet montana refers to mountains or coming from mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fig</span> Species of flowering plant known as the common fig

The fig is the edible fruit of Ficus carica, a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, together with western and southern Asia. It has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world. Ficus carica is the type species of the genus Ficus, containing over 800 tropical and subtropical plant species.

<i>Acer palmatum</i> Species of maple

Acer palmatum, commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Korean: danpungnamu, 단풍나무, Japanese: irohamomiji, イロハモミジ, or momiji,, is a species of woody plant native to Korea, Japan, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russia. Many different cultivars of this maple have been selected and they are grown worldwide for their large variety of attractive forms, leaf shapes, and spectacular colors.

<i>Pteris cretica</i> Species of fern

Pteris cretica, the Cretan brake, ribbon fern, or Cretan brake fern, is a species of evergreen fern in the family Pteridaceae, native to Europe, Asia and Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O-aew</span> Shaved ice dessert popular in Phuket, Thailand

O-aew is a shaved ice dessert known as a local specialty of Phuket, Thailand. Introduced by Hokkien Chinese settlers, it is known after its main ingredient, a jelly made from seeds of the o-aew plant, an ingredient now most commonly found in Taiwan where it is known as aiyu jelly.

Wiebesia pumilae is a fig wasp species in Genus Wiebesia, Family Agaonidae. W. pumilae is the pollinator of Ficus pumila var. awkeotsang and Ficus pumila var. pumila. The scientific name was first published as Blastophaga pumilae in 1967 by Hill.

References

  1. The Plant List, Ficus pumila L.
  2. Flora of China, Ficus pumila Linnaeus, 1753. 薜荔 bi li
  3. Flora of North America, Ficus pumila Linnaeus, 1753. Climbing fig
  4. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  5. Gaffiot, Félix (1934). Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français (in French). Paris: Librairie Hachette. p. 1278. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  6. Ficus Species, Climbing Fig, Creeping Ficus, Creeping Fig by Dave's Garden
  7. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 39. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  8. "Ficus pumila AGM". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  9. Rademaker, M.; Derraik, J. G. (July 2012). "Phytophotodermatitis caused by Ficus pumila". Contact Dermatitis. 67 (1): 53–56. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0536.2012.02026.x. PMID   22681467. S2CID   39421000.
  10. "FDA Poisonous Plant Database". U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2018.