Common Name:

General Information

Ficus dammaropsis is a sparingly-branched shrub or a tree, often with a straggling growth habit; it can grow from 9 - 13 metres tall[].
The edible leaves are commonly eaten in New Guinea, where the plant is gathered from the wild and also sometimes cultivated[, ]. The plant also has local medicinal uses and is a source of fibre.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Australasia - New Guinea.

Habitat

Along riverbanks and in clearings in montane forest at elevations from 900 - 2,700 metres, but most commonly from 1,600 - 1,750 metres[, ].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	8.00 m
Pollinators	Wasps
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, 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 or cooked[, ]. The outside layer is eaten raw[]. Young fruits are boiled and eaten as a vegetable[, ]. The fruit is up to 60mm in diameter[, ]. The fruit can be up to 150mm[].

Young leaves - cooked. The large young leaves are eaten as a vegetable[, , ].

Medicinal

A daily drink of stem latex is said to relieve a severe cough[].

Other Uses

A fibre is obtained from the bark. It is used to make rope and clothing[, , ].

The fibrous branches can be used to clean the teeth[].

The leaves of some species are used to wrap food for cooking[].

The leaves of some species are quite rough and can be used as a sandpaper substitute and for scouring pots[].

The wood of plants in this genus is usually of low quality, light in weight, soft and not very durable. It is sometimes used for purposes such as light construction, digging sticks, yam stakes, etc.
The wood is also used for fuel and sometimes for making fire by friction[].

Propagation

Seed -
Cuttings do not normally establish[].

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