Common Name:

General Information

Ficus annulata is an evergreen tree growing up to 32 metres tall. The bole can be up to 87cm in diameter[]. The plant usually begins life as an epiphyte, growing in the branch of another tree; as it grows older it sends down aerial roots which, when they reach the ground quickly form roots and become much thicker and more vigorous. They supply nutrients to the fig, allowing it to grow faster than the host tree. The aerial roots gradually encircle the host tree, preventing its main trunk from expanding, whilst at the same time the foliage smothers the foliage of the host. Eventually the host dies, leaving the fig to carry on growing without competition.
The tree is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of rubber. It has been cultivated in Australia, Myanmar and Malacca for its very valuable rubber[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

E. Asia - southern China, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines.

Habitat

Montane forests at elevations from 500 - 1,300 metres in China[]. A mid-canopy tree in undisturbed mixed dipterocarp forests at elevations up to 600 metres. Usually on alluvial sites near rivers and streams, but also on hillsides and ridges[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	25.00 m
Pollinators	Wasps
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Found in the wild on sandy to clay soils[].
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

Leaves - cooked and eaten as a vegetable[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

A latex is obtained from the plant. A high quality rubber can be made from it[].

Propagation

Seed -

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