| Dye fig | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Moraceae |
| Genus: | Ficus |
| Subgenus: | F. subg. Sycidium |
| Species: | F. tinctoria |
| Binomial name | |
| Ficus tinctoria | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
List
| |
Ficus tinctoria, also known as dye fig, or humped fig is a hemiepiphytic tree in the genus Ficus . It is also one of the species known as a strangler fig. [3]
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It is found in Asia, Malesia, northern Australia, and the South Pacific islands. [3] It grows in moist valleys. [4]
Palms are favorable host species. Root systems of dye fig can come together to be self-sustaining, but the epiphyte usually falls if the host tree dies or rots away. [5]
In Australia it is recorded as a medium-sized tree with smooth, oval green leaves. [3] It is found often growing in rocky areas or over boulders. [3] The leaves are asymmetrical. [6]
The small rust-brown fruit of the dye fig are the source of a red dye used in traditional fabric making in parts of Oceania and Indonesia.
The fruit is also edible and constitute as a major food source in the low-lying atolls of Micronesia and Polynesia. [7]
