Common Name:

General Information

Ficus prolixa is a much-branched, medium to large tree with a wide, spreading crown; it can grow up to 30 metres tall. The bole has numerous prop roots. 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 tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of fibre.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Northwestern and southwestern Pacific Islands

Habitat

Rocky shores and slopes, usually on limestone, at elevations from sea level to 60 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal 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

The latex is used as a chewing gum[].

Medicinal

The latex has been used as an abortifacient[]. This can be very dangerous[].
Local curers sometimes use the sticky sap in medicinal preparations designed to stop the bleeding of external or internal injuries[].

Agroforestry Uses:

This species seems to be one of the only species capable of long-term colonization of residual pinnacles in strip-mined areas, and could become dominant in the disclimax vegetation[].

Other Uses

A fine-grade tapa cloth is made from the bark of the young stems and aerial roots[, ].
The aerial roots are the source of a fibre that is made into cordage[].

The latex is used for caulking boats and waterproofing[].

The wood, including the aerial roots, is used locally in light construction, tool making etc[].
The wood is used for fuel[].

Propagation

Seed -

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