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Useful Tropical Plants

Ficus variegata

Blume

Moraceae

+ Synonyms

Ficus chlorocarpa Benth.

Ficus ehretioides F.Muell. ex Benth.

Ficus garciae Elmer

Ficus glochidiifolia Hayata

Ficus konishii Hayata

Common Name: Red-Stem Fig

Ficus variegata
Looking up the trunk to the heavy crops of developing fruits on the branches and the dense canopy
Photograph by: Mk2010
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Ficus variegata Ficus variegata Ficus variegata Ficus variegata Ficus variegata Ficus variegata

General Information

Red-stem fig is a medium to large-sized tree; it can grow from 7 - 38 metres tall. The bole can be up to 110cm in diameter[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
,
653
Title
Plants of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.asianplant.net/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Excellent site with brief information on the plant, its range, habitat and uses, plus phots of specimens, close-ops of flowers and leaves etc,
] The bole can be up to 300cm in diameter, with plank buttresses up to 5 metres high[
286
Title
Flora of Australia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.anbg.gov.au/abrs/abif/flora/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
The full information from the Flora of Australia - on-line. An excellent resource.
]. The tree is evergreen when young but becomes briefly deciduous as it grows older[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of wood and wax. The wax is sold in local markets[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
,
266
Title
Flora of China
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis.
Year
1994
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
,
286
Title
Flora of Australia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.anbg.gov.au/abrs/abif/flora/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
The full information from the Flora of Australia - on-line. An excellent resource.

Range

E. Asia - S. China, S. Japan, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, to New Guinea, Australia, Solomon Islands.

Habitat

Valleys at low to medium elevations in southern China[
266
Title
Flora of China
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis.
Year
1994
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
]. A mid-canopy tree in regrowth, forest gardens and disturbed or open sites in mixed dipterocarp forests at elevations up to 500 metres. Along rivers and streams or on alluvial sites[
653
Title
Plants of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.asianplant.net/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Excellent site with brief information on the plant, its range, habitat and uses, plus phots of specimens, close-ops of flowers and leaves etc,
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *
Medicinal Rating *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *  *
HabitEvergreen Tree
Height15.00 m
Growth RateFast
PollinatorsWasps
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details


Found in the wild on a range of soils from sandy to clay, including limestone[
653
Title
Plants of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.asianplant.net/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Excellent site with brief information on the plant, its range, habitat and uses, plus phots of specimens, close-ops of flowers and leaves etc,
].
A fast-growing tree[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
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[
611
Title
Five hundred plant species in Gunung Halimun Salak National Park, West Java
Publication
 
Author
Hari Priyadi et al
Website
http://www.cifor.cgiar.org
Publisher
Center for International Forestry Research; Indonesia.
Year
2010
ISBN
978-602-8693-22-6
Description
Brief details of the uses of 500 Indonesian plants. It is available as a PDF document to download from the internet.
,
653
Title
Plants of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.asianplant.net/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Excellent site with brief information on the plant, its range, habitat and uses, plus phots of specimens, close-ops of flowers and leaves etc,
]. The red-brown, globose fruits are around 12mm in diameter[
653
Title
Plants of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.asianplant.net/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Excellent site with brief information on the plant, its range, habitat and uses, plus phots of specimens, close-ops of flowers and leaves etc,
].

The latex is used as a food additive in palm starch[
653
Title
Plants of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.asianplant.net/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Excellent site with brief information on the plant, its range, habitat and uses, plus phots of specimens, close-ops of flowers and leaves etc,
].

Medicinal

The roots are used as an antidote[
611
Title
Five hundred plant species in Gunung Halimun Salak National Park, West Java
Publication
 
Author
Hari Priyadi et al
Website
http://www.cifor.cgiar.org
Publisher
Center for International Forestry Research; Indonesia.
Year
2010
ISBN
978-602-8693-22-6
Description
Brief details of the uses of 500 Indonesian plants. It is available as a PDF document to download from the internet.
].

The bark is used as a remedy for dysentery[
611
Title
Five hundred plant species in Gunung Halimun Salak National Park, West Java
Publication
 
Author
Hari Priyadi et al
Website
http://www.cifor.cgiar.org
Publisher
Center for International Forestry Research; Indonesia.
Year
2010
ISBN
978-602-8693-22-6
Description
Brief details of the uses of 500 Indonesian plants. It is available as a PDF document to download from the internet.
]

The fruit is used as a remedy for dysentery[
611
Title
Five hundred plant species in Gunung Halimun Salak National Park, West Java
Publication
 
Author
Hari Priyadi et al
Website
http://www.cifor.cgiar.org
Publisher
Center for International Forestry Research; Indonesia.
Year
2010
ISBN
978-602-8693-22-6
Description
Brief details of the uses of 500 Indonesian plants. It is available as a PDF document to download from the internet.
].

The latex is applied topically in the treatment of cuts[
611
Title
Five hundred plant species in Gunung Halimun Salak National Park, West Java
Publication
 
Author
Hari Priyadi et al
Website
http://www.cifor.cgiar.org
Publisher
Center for International Forestry Research; Indonesia.
Year
2010
ISBN
978-602-8693-22-6
Description
Brief details of the uses of 500 Indonesian plants. It is available as a PDF document to download from the internet.
].

Other Uses

The tree is a source of wax which is used in Batik work[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
]. (Is this referring to the latex?[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
]).

The wood is of low quality, but is used for temporary construction, mouldings, interior work, cladding, drawers, fruit crates, floats and knife sheaths[
611
Title
Five hundred plant species in Gunung Halimun Salak National Park, West Java
Publication
 
Author
Hari Priyadi et al
Website
http://www.cifor.cgiar.org
Publisher
Center for International Forestry Research; Indonesia.
Year
2010
ISBN
978-602-8693-22-6
Description
Brief details of the uses of 500 Indonesian plants. It is available as a PDF document to download from the internet.
,
653
Title
Plants of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.asianplant.net/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Excellent site with brief information on the plant, its range, habitat and uses, plus phots of specimens, close-ops of flowers and leaves etc,
].
The wood is used for fuel[
611
Title
Five hundred plant species in Gunung Halimun Salak National Park, West Java
Publication
 
Author
Hari Priyadi et al
Website
http://www.cifor.cgiar.org
Publisher
Center for International Forestry Research; Indonesia.
Year
2010
ISBN
978-602-8693-22-6
Description
Brief details of the uses of 500 Indonesian plants. It is available as a PDF document to download from the internet.
].

Propagation

Seed - germinates best at a temperature around 20°c[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
Air layering[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
Tip cuttings around 4 - 12cm long, taken from lateral branches[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-12-13. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Ficus+variegata>

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