Ficus polita
Species of fig
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ficus polita, the heart-leaved fig, is a species of fig that is native to forests of tropical Africa, ranging from Senegal in the west to South Sudan and Kenya in the east, south to Angola and KwaZulu Natal, and to Madagascar.[2]
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| Ficus polita | |
|---|---|
| |
| Specimen in Pretoria, South Africa | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Moraceae |
| Genus: | Ficus |
| Species: | F. polita |
| Binomial name | |
| Ficus polita Vahl (1805) | |
| Subspecies[2] | |
| |
| Synonyms[2][3] | |
synonyms of subsp. polita:
| |
Distribution
The tree is found in Lowland rainforest and gallery forest (west and central Africa), coastal & dry forest (east and southern African coast), and on Madagascar. It grows up to elevations of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft).[4]
Description
Ficus polita is similar to the Pondoland fig, (Ficus bizanae), an endemic tropical forest species in South Africa. The leaves have entire margins and are often heart-shaped, with the tip acuminate.[5]
The figs are borne on old wood, in small clusters on stumpy branchlets.[5]
The pollinating wasp is Courtella bekiliensis bekiliensis (Risbec) in Madagascar, and Courtella bekiliensis bispinosa (Wiebes) on the African mainland.[4]
Gallery
Bark texture
Leaf shape
Fig clusters
Fig
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