Ficus cordata
Species of plant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ficus cordata, the Namaqua rock fig[1] or Namaqua fig,[3] is a species of fig native to southwestern and west-central Africa.[2] In the south it is often the largest and most prominent tree,[4] and is virtually restricted to cliff faces and rock outcrops,[5] where it has a rock-splitting habit.[6]
| Namaqua rock fig | |
|---|---|
| |
| In the Fish River Canyon, Namibia | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Moraceae |
| Genus: | Ficus |
| Subgenus: | F. subg. Urostigma |
| Species: | F. cordata |
| Binomial name | |
| Ficus cordata | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Taxonomy
The species was first described by Carl Peter Thunberg in 1786.[2] Two subspecies were formerly recognized:
- F. c. cordata – southwestern Africa
- F. c. lecardii (Warb.) C.C.Berg – Senegal to central Africa[7]
Subspecies lecardii is now recognized as a distinct species, Ficus lecardii.[8]
Range and habitat
Ficus cordata is native to arid western South Africa, Namibia, southwestern Angola,[5] Botswana, and Cameroon.[2] It is found in fynbos, succulent Karoo, and Nama Karoo.[5]
Species associations
The species is pollinated by the wasp Platyscapa desertorum Compton. The wasp Comptoniella vannoorti Wiebes is an associated non-pollinator that oviposits through the fig wall.[5]
Similar species
F. salicifolia,[9] the Wonderboom, is sometimes deemed a third subspecies of Ficus cordata, i.e. F. c. subsp. salicifolia (Vahl) C.C.Berg, but it lacks the yellowish sessile figs of F. cordata, and its range is much to the east.
