Common Name:

General Information

Ficus abutilifolia is a deciduous shrub or tree with a rounded, spreading but sparse crown. It can grow from 3 - 15 metres tall, though it seldom exceeds 5 metres[, ]. The bole is short, crooked, low-branching, usually with more than one main bole and often contorted[]. All parts of the plant exude a non-toxic, white milky latex. The roots often spread over the surface of rocks and are conspicuous due to the whitish-yellow bark[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for its edible fruit, which is eaten locally. It is sometimes planted to provide shade and is also grown as an ornamental[]. is known to be a good subject for bonsai[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - drier areas from Mauritania to Sudan, south through eastern Africa to S. Africa,

Habitat

Found in bushveld savannah vegetation where it is restricted to rocky habitats, on mountains, koppies, rocky hill slopes and even cliff faces. It is never found away from rocks[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	5.00 m
Pollinators	Wasps
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the dry to wet, lowland tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 500 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 18 - 25°c, but can tolerate 14 - 30°c[]. Able to tolerate light frosts[], it can be killed by temperatures of -1°c or lower[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 400 - 2,500mm, but tolerates 250 - 3,000mm[].
Requires a sunny position[]. Prefers a light, moderately fertile, well-drained soil[]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 6.5, tolerating 5.5 - 7[]. Plants can produce roots up to 60 metres long, these seeking out sources of underground water and making the plant very drought tolerant[].
The plant can flower all year round[].
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[]. Usually very palatable, but they can be somewhat sour, and insipid[]. They can be dried for later use[]. The fruits are 15 - 25mm in diameter[].

Leaves - cooked and eaten as a vegetable[]. The leaves are only eaten very occasionally[].

Medicinal

Decoctions prepared from the leaves are used in promoting fertility in humans[]. The leaves are used as a remedy against stomach aches[].

The milky latex derived from the plant is applied externally to remove skin warts[].

A decoction of the bark is taken by men as a strengthening tonic[].

Agroforestry Uses:

This species belongs to the 'rock splitting' group of figs which are confined to rocky habitats, often germinating on bare rock surfaces. Their roots penetrate small cracks in the rocks and, as the roots grow larger, they can end up causing large splits in the rock. The tree can be grown as an ornamental, but because of its aggressive root system it is advisable to keep it away from buildings, paved areas and swimming pools[].

Other Uses

The wood is light and soft, yet tough. It becomes a yellow-brown when dry and works easily and polishes well but on the whole it is not of much use to people[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a lightly shaded position in a nursery seedbed. Germination can be expected within 10 - 30 days depending on temperature and the freshness of the seed - fresh seed and warm temperatures will favour more rapid germination[]. Seedlings should be placed in a sunny position and eventually transplanted into a well-drained sandy mix rich in organic matter[].
Cuttings are not as easy as many other species in this genus, but can be successful[]. Take softwood or semi-hardwood cuttings, around 20 - 25cm long. Remove the lower leaves from the stem. Insert into a washed river sand mix and place in a misting unit, or if this is not available, place the tray with cuttings inside a clear plastic bag to reduce the adverse effects of transpiration. These should root within a month and be ready for transplanting in a further 3 - 4 weeks into a rich, well-drained medium[].

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