Ficus bernaysii
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ficus bernaysii | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Moraceae |
| Genus: | Ficus |
| Subgenus: | F. subg. Sycomorus |
| Species: | F. bernaysii |
| Binomial name | |
| Ficus bernaysii | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Ficus bernaysii is a lowland rainforest tree in the family Moraceae, native to an area from New Guinea to the Solomon Islands. It is dioecious, and grows cauliflorous fruit. It is fed on by a wide range of animals.
Ficus bernaysii is in the section Sycocarpus of the dioecious fig subgenus Sycomorus.[3]
The species was described by the Scottish botanist George King (1840-1909), who worked in India from 1866 to 1898.[4] He was important in the cultivation of Cinchona and in distributing quinine. The formal description of F. bernaysii is held to be in the periodical Journal of The Asiatic Society of Bengal (Part 2: Natural History) in 1887. In his 1886/7 publication On Some New Species of Ficus from New Guinea, he states that the species is named after Mr. L. Bernays, of Brisbane, "whose efforts for the exploration of New Guinea, and for the development of his own colony of Queensland are so well-known."[5] See Lewis Adolphus Bernays (1831-1908), public servant, for comparison.
Description
Ficus bernaysii is a tree growing up to 15m tall.[6] The leaves range from (sub)distichous to supopposite. The white to brown stipules are 0.5 to 2 cm long. The tree has abundant cauliflorous fruit growing the length of the trunk.[7]