Ficus tremula

Last updated

Ficus tremula
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Moraceae
Genus: Ficus
Species:
F. tremula
Binomial name
Ficus tremula

Ficus tremula is an hemi-epiphytic species within the family Moraceae. It is pollinated by the fig wasp, Courtella wardi . [1]

Contents

Subspecies

Ficus tremula has three subspecies: [2]

Description

Ficus tremula is hemi-epiphytic shrub or tree that can reach 10 metres (33 ft) tall with leafy and greyish stems. Leaves are arranged spirally, the length of the petiole ranges from 0.7–4.5 centimetres (0.3–1.8 in) while the stipule's range is 2–10 millimetres (0.08–0.39 in). [3] Leaflets are oblong to elliptical in shape, about 2–11 centimetres (0.8–4.3 in) long and 1–5 centimetres (0.4–2.0 in) wide with a margin that is entire. The leaf texture is letherly to papery with a rounded or cordate base and a subacute to acuminate apex. [3]

Its figs are borne in fascicles, are elliptic to globular in shape and yellowish to green in color when ripe, they can reach up to 2 centimetres (0.8 in) in diameter. [4]

Distribution and habitat

Occurs in Central and Eastern Africa and also in Nigeria and in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. Found in upand and lowland in rain forest and savannah environments. [3]

Uses

In parts of Kenya, fish traps are made from strings produced from fibres obtained from the stem bark of the tree. [5]

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 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.

Ficus crassiuscula is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to Central America and north-western parts of South America.

<i>Antiaris</i> Genus of plants

Antiaris toxicaria is a tree in the mulberry and fig family, Moraceae. It is the only species currently recognized in the genus Antiaris. The genus Antiaris was at one time considered to consist of several species, but is now regarded as just one variable species which can be further divided into five subspecies. One significant difference within the species is that the size of the fruit decreases as one travels from Africa to Polynesia. Antiaris has a remarkably wide distribution in tropical regions, occurring in Australia, tropical Asia, tropical Africa, Indonesia, the Philippines, Tonga, and various other tropical islands. Its seeds are spread by various birds and bats, and it is not clear how many of the populations are essentially invasive. The species is of interest as a source of wood, bark cloth, and pharmacological or toxic substances.

<i>Ficus aurea</i> Species of strangler fig

Ficus aurea, commonly known as the Florida strangler fig, golden fig, or higuerón, is a tree in the family Moraceae that is native to the U.S. state of Florida, the northern and western Caribbean, southern Mexico and Central America south to Panama. The specific epithet aurea was applied by English botanist Thomas Nuttall who described the species in 1846.

<i>Ficus insipida</i> Species of fig tree from the Neotropics

Ficus insipida is a common tropical tree in the fig genus of the family Moraceae growing in forest habitats along rivers. It ranges from Mexico to northern South America.

<i>Ficus <span style="font-style:normal;">subg.</span> Pharmacosycea</i> Subgenus of flowering plants

Pharmacosycea is one of six subgenera currently recognised in the genus Ficus. It was proposed by E. J. H. Corner in 1967 to unite section Pharmacosycea with Oreosycea.

<i>Ficus americana</i> Species of fig tree native to the Neotropics

Ficus americana, commonly known as the West Indian laurel fig or Jamaican cherry fig, is a tree in the family Moraceae which is native to the Caribbean, Mexico in the north, through Central and South America south to southern Brazil. It is an introduced species in Florida, USA. The species is variable; the five recognised subspecies were previously placed in a large number of other species.

<i>Ficus sansibarica</i> Species of tree

The Ficus sansibarica, known as knobbly fig, is an African species of cauliflorous fig. It is named after Zanzibar, where Franz Stuhlmann discovered it in 1889. They often begin life as epiphytes, which assume a strangling habit as they develop. They regularly reach 10 m, but may grow up to 40 m tall as forest stranglers.

<i>Ficus salicifolia</i> Species or subspecies of Afrotropical fig

The Wonderboom is an evergreen fig species that ranges from the KwaZulu-Natal midlands northwards to tropical East Africa. It grows especially on outcrops, rocky hillsides and along cliffs fringing water courses and may rarely grow up to 10 m tall, and acquire a leafy spreading crown.

<i>Ficus palmata</i> Species of fig tree

Ficus palmata, the Punjab fig, or "Bedu" is a plant in the family Moraceae. It is native to southern Egypt across to north-eastern tropical Africa and also the Arabian Peninsula. It is a shrub/tree with edible fruit.

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

Ficus subpisocarpa is a species of small deciduous tree native to Japan, China, Taiwan and southeast Asia to the Moluccas (Ceram). Two subspecies are recognised. Terrestrial or hemiepiphytic, it reaches a height of 7 m (23 ft). Ants predominantly of the genus Crematogaster have been recorded living in stem cavities. Ficus subpisocarpa is pollinated by Platyscapa ishiiana (Agaonidae).

<i>Ficus nervosa</i> Species of fig tree

Ficus nervosa is a tree in the family Moraceae which grows up to a height of 35 metres. It is native to southern China, Taiwan and tropical Asia. The tree is grown in coffee plantations for shade.

<i>Ficus burtt-davyi</i> Species of fig from Southern Africa

Ficus burtt-davyi is a fig species endemic to Southern Africa, belonging to the Mulberry family of Moraceae. It grows in coastal and inland forests up to 1500m, from the vicinity of Mossel Bay in the Southern Cape to southern Mozambique - the forms growing on coastal dunes in the northern part of its range are salt tolerant and form low thickets on the margins of woodland. In the southern and eastern Cape forests the species becomes a strangler or liane, while when found on rocky outcrops and cliffs it usually develops into a rock-splitter.

<i>Ficus vasta</i> Species of flowering plant

Ficus vasta is a fig plant found in Ethiopia and Yemen. The tree is a species of sycamore-fig.

<i>Ficus cordata</i> Species of plant in the family Moraceae

Ficus cordata, the Namaqua rock fig, or Namaqua fig is a species of fig that occurs in two disjunct populations in Africa, one in the arid southwest of the continent, and a second in the northern subtropics. In the south it is often the largest and most prominent tree, and is virtually restricted to cliff faces and rock outcrops, where it has a rock-splitting habit.

<i>Ficus cyathistipula</i> Tropical African fig tree

''Ficus cyathistipula'', the African fig tree, is a species of fig that is native to the tropical forest regions of Africa. They may be small trees, shrubs or hemi-epiphytic lianas, and are widespread in the moist tropics, where they may be found in Afromontane or rainforest, often overhanging pools. The figs are reddish when ripe, and have thick, spongy walls that enable them to float on water. They are named for their cup-shaped (cyathus-) and persistent stipules (stipula).

<i>Ficus laurifolia</i> Species of flowering plants

Ficus laurifolia is an hemi-epiphytic species that sometimes grows as a shrub or liana or as a tree, the species is within the family Moraceae.

Ficus dicranostyla is a shrub or tree species within the family Moraceae. It occurs in Tropical Africa and it is one of the two species of Ficus within the section Oreosycea of Ficus subgenus Pharmacosycea.

Ficus recurvata is an hemi-epiphyte species within the family Moraceae.

References

  1. Ungricht, Stefan; Rasplus, Jean–Yves; Kjellberg, Finn (2004). "(1626–1628) Proposals to conserve names of extant fig trees against senior homonyms of fossils: Ficus crassipes F.M. Bailey against F. crassipes (Heer) Heer, Ficus tiliifolia Baker against F. tiliifolia (A. Braun) Heer and Ficus tremula Warb. against F. tremula Heer ( Moraceae )". Taxon. 53 (2): 566–568. doi:10.2307/4135646. ISSN   0040-0262. JSTOR   4135646.
  2. "Ficus tremula". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Berg, Cornelis C.; Hijman, Maria E. E. (1989). Moraceae. Flora of tropical East Africa / prepared at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew with assistance from the East African Herbarium. Ed.: R. M. Polhill. Rotterdam: Balkema [u.a.] ISBN   978-90-6191-350-4.
  4. van Greuning, J. V. (1990-12-01). "A synopsis of the genus Ficus (Moraceae) in southern Africa". South African Journal of Botany. 56 (6): 599–630. doi: 10.1016/S0254-6299(16)30997-8 . ISSN   0254-6299.
  5. Brink, M., ed. (2012). Plant resources of tropical Africa. Fibres / ed.: M. Brink. Weikersheim: PROTA Foundation. p. 180. ISBN   978-92-9081-482-5.