Common Name: Broadleaf Fig

General Information

Ficus platyphylla is a tree with a heavily-branched, rather dense, spreading crown; it can grow up to 25 metres tall[]. The plant often 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 plant is commonly harvested from the wild for local use of its latex, which can be used as a base for chewing gum or to make a good quality rubber. The plant also supplies edible fruits, fibre, dyestuff and tannins.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Senegal to Somalia, south to Cote D'Ivoire and Uganda.

Habitat

Open and wooded savannah[].

Properties

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

A latex obtained from the tree is used as a base for chewing gum[, , ].

Fruit - raw[]. A sweet flavour, it is rich in calcium and vitamins[].

Medicinal

A decoction of the bark is sometimes used in the treatment of leprosy and stomach pins[].

A decoction of the leafy branch tips is said to be an antidote to arrow poisoning[].

Other Uses

A latex is obtained from the tree[]. It is used to make a good quality rubber[]. The latex is used to make a more solid rubber, known as 'gutta percha' or balata[].
The dried latex is used for cleaning copper and brass instruments[, ]. The latex can be used to repair broken pottery[].

The bark is a source of tannins[, ].
The bark is a dye sources for traditional 'bogolan' textiles, giving red-ochre to brownish colours[].
A green dye is obtained from the leaves[].

A fibre obtained from the inner bark is used for making ropes, cordage and bark-cloth[, ].

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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