Common Name: Wedgeleaf Fig

General Information

Wedgeleaf fig is a tree with a flat, spreading, umbrella-like crown, it can grow 3 - 10 metres tall[]. The bole is 15 - 25cm in diameter[].
The tree is gathered from the wild for its edible fruit, fibre and medicinal properties. It is also cultivated as a shade tree along the sides of roads[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - India, southern China, India, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia.

Habitat

Forest margins, valleys, along trails at elevations of 600 - 1,900 metres in southern China[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	10.00 m
Pollinators	Wasps
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Fig trees have a unique form of fertilization, each species relying on a single, highly specialized species of wasp that is itself totaly dependant upon that fig species in order to breed. The trees produce three types of flower; male, a long-styled female and a short-styled female flower, often called the gall flower. All three types of flower are contained within the structure we usually think of as the fruit.
The female fig wasp enters a fig and lays its eggs on the short styled female flowers while pollinating the long styled female flowers. Wingless male fig wasps emerge first, inseminate the emerging females and then bore exit tunnels out of the fig for the winged females. Females emerge, collect pollen from the male flowers and fly off in search of figs whose female flowers are receptive. In order to support a population of its pollinator, individuals of a Ficus spp. must flower asynchronously. A population must exceed a critical minimum size to ensure that at any time of the year at least some plants have overlap of emmission and reception of fig wasps. Without this temporal overlap the short-lived pollinator wasps will go locally extinct[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[, ]. A pleasant, sweet-sour flavour somwhat like gooseberries (Ribes uva-crispa)[]. The figs are up to 15mm in diameter[].

Medicinal

The juice of the roots is applied to treat headaches, and is also recommended for fevers and menstrual disorders[].

The bark, combined with Schima wallichii and Syzygium cumini, is used to treat gastric troubles and peptic ulcers[].

The immature fruit is used to treat constipation[]. A paste of the fruit is applied to the forehead to relieve headaches[].

The latex is used to treat children with fevers[].

Other Uses

The bark yields a fibre used in making ropes[, , ].

Propagation

Seed - germinates best at a temperature around 20°c[].
Air layering[].
Tip cuttings around 4 - 12cm long, taken from lateral branches[].

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