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Useful Tropical Plants

Ficus barclayana

(Miq.) Miq.

Moraceae

+ Synonyms

Covellia barclayana Miq.

Ficus barclayi Seem.

Common Name:

Ficus barclayana
Drawing of a fruiting branch
Photograph by: Seemann, B., Flora Vitiensis, vol. 2: t. 66 (1873) [W.H. Fitch]
Creative Commons License

General Information

Ficus barclayana is a shrub or small tree that is often freely branched or slender; it can grow from 1 - 10 metres tall[
490
Title
Flora Vitiensis Nova
Publication
 
Author
Smith. A.C.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden; Hawaii
Year
1979
ISBN
 
Description
A comprehensive flora of Fiji, often showing plant uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].
The tree is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine. It is sometimes found growing in home gardens and around villages[
339
Title
Agroforestry in the Pacific Islands: Systems for Sustainability
Publication
 
Author
W.C. Clarke and R.R. Thaman (Editors)
Website
http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80824e/80824E00.htm#Contents
Publisher
United Nations University Press, Tokyo
Year
1993
ISBN
92-808-0824-9
Description
The guide includes information on 100 species of plants for Agroforestry. It is also available on the web at the address given above.
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

490
Title
Flora Vitiensis Nova
Publication
 
Author
Smith. A.C.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden; Hawaii
Year
1979
ISBN
 
Description
A comprehensive flora of Fiji, often showing plant uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.

Range

Pacific - Fiji.

Habitat

Dense, dry, or open forest or on its edges, and in coastal and hillside thickets, at elevations up to 1,050 metres[
490
Title
Flora Vitiensis Nova
Publication
 
Author
Smith. A.C.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden; Hawaii
Year
1979
ISBN
 
Description
A comprehensive flora of Fiji, often showing plant uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *  *
Medicinal Rating *  *
HabitTree
Height6.00 m
Cultivation StatusCultivated, Semi-cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details



The plant can produce fruit all year round[
490
Title
Flora Vitiensis Nova
Publication
 
Author
Smith. A.C.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden; Hawaii
Year
1979
ISBN
 
Description
A comprehensive flora of Fiji, often showing plant uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].
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[
413
Title
Global Invasive Species Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.issg.org/database/welcome/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Very detailed information on almost 400 species (with more being added) of plants that have become weeds in areas outside their native range.
].

Edible Uses

Fruit[
490
Title
Flora Vitiensis Nova
Publication
 
Author
Smith. A.C.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden; Hawaii
Year
1979
ISBN
 
Description
A comprehensive flora of Fiji, often showing plant uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
]. The figs, at first green to yellow, become reddish to purple or brown at maturity and may attain a diameter of 18 mm€[
490
Title
Flora Vitiensis Nova
Publication
 
Author
Smith. A.C.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden; Hawaii
Year
1979
ISBN
 
Description
A comprehensive flora of Fiji, often showing plant uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

Leaves - cooked[
339
Title
Agroforestry in the Pacific Islands: Systems for Sustainability
Publication
 
Author
W.C. Clarke and R.R. Thaman (Editors)
Website
http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80824e/80824E00.htm#Contents
Publisher
United Nations University Press, Tokyo
Year
1993
ISBN
92-808-0824-9
Description
The guide includes information on 100 species of plants for Agroforestry. It is also available on the web at the address given above.
]. Generally, only the very young leaves of Ficus species would be used[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].

Medicinal

The leaves are a very good styptic[
351
Title
Fiji Plants: Their Names and Uses
Publication
 
Author
H. B. Richenda Parham
Publisher
Journal of the Polynesian Society
Year
1939
ISBN
 
Description
Published as a supplement in the Journal of the Polynesian Society. Very brief listing of the uses of plants growing in Fiji, listed in order of their native name with no index for the Botanical name.
]. Mixed with those of other plants, they are made into a decoction used internally as a treatment for stomach ailments[
490
Title
Flora Vitiensis Nova
Publication
 
Author
Smith. A.C.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden; Hawaii
Year
1979
ISBN
 
Description
A comprehensive flora of Fiji, often showing plant uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].
Applied externally, the leaves are made into a poultice that is appled to sore legs, varicose veins, bleeding wounds etc[
351
Title
Fiji Plants: Their Names and Uses
Publication
 
Author
H. B. Richenda Parham
Publisher
Journal of the Polynesian Society
Year
1939
ISBN
 
Description
Published as a supplement in the Journal of the Polynesian Society. Very brief listing of the uses of plants growing in Fiji, listed in order of their native name with no index for the Botanical name.
]. An infusion of the leaves is a good wash for inflamed eyes[
351
Title
Fiji Plants: Their Names and Uses
Publication
 
Author
H. B. Richenda Parham
Publisher
Journal of the Polynesian Society
Year
1939
ISBN
 
Description
Published as a supplement in the Journal of the Polynesian Society. Very brief listing of the uses of plants growing in Fiji, listed in order of their native name with no index for the Botanical name.
].

The fruits are put into teeth cavities[
490
Title
Flora Vitiensis Nova
Publication
 
Author
Smith. A.C.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden; Hawaii
Year
1979
ISBN
 
Description
A comprehensive flora of Fiji, often showing plant uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-12-05. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Ficus+barclayana>

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