Ficus subpisocarpa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ficus subpisocarpa | |
|---|---|
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| Ficus subpisocarpa in Taiwan | |
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| Ant nest within Ficus subpisocarpa branch | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Moraceae |
| Genus: | Ficus |
| Subgenus: | F. subg. Urostigma |
| Species: | F. subpisocarpa |
| Binomial name | |
| Ficus subpisocarpa | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Ficus subpisocarpa, commonly known as Japanese superb fig, superb fig or pen tube fig,[3] is a species of fig native to Japan, China, Hong Kong,[3] Taiwan and southeast Asia to the Moluccas (Ceram).[4] Terrestrial or hemiepiphytic, it reaches a height of 12 m (39 ft). Ants, predominantly of the genus Crematogaster, have been recorded living in stem cavities.
Ficus subpisocarpa was described by the French botanist François Gagnepain in 1927, from a collection near Haiphong in Vietnam. It was reduced to a synonym of F. superba variety japonica by E. J. H. Corner in 1965,[5] before being raised to species status again by Cornelis Christiaan Berg in 2005.[2] Within the genus, Ficus subpisocarpa belongs in the banyan subgenus Urostigma section Urostigma subsection Urostigma.[2] Two subspecies are recognised:[6]
Description
Ficus subpisocarpa is a tree that grows up to 12 metres (39 feet) high,[7] growing from the ground or directly on other trees as a hemiepiphyte. The bark is dark brown,[8] while the branches are reddish brown to dark grey.[2] The foliage is deciduous in at least some areas,[8] but possibly not in other areas,[2][9] and trees may only be leafless for a week before new leaves grow.[7] The leaves and petioles are glabrous (hairless), and the leaves are symmetrical, elliptical and oblong with a rounded base, and can measure anywhere from 4 to 24 cm (1.5 to 9.5 in) long by 1.5–13 cm (0.59–5.12 in) wide. They are spirally arranged on the stem.[2] The growth of new tissue occurs when a whole section of the branch undergoes budding and becomes covered with leaves. The figs are ramiflorous, that is they grow on the branches, in groups of one to three.[2] There is a high variation in colour between trees and seasons; mature figs are whitish pink to dark purple, often patterned with pale spots, are bulbous to globose, and measure 0.5 to 0.8 cm (0.20 to 0.31 in) in diameter.[10][2][8] Maturation is also highly variable, even on a single tree; it is synchronous up until the pollinating fig wasps emerge, but variable after that, with some figs maturing rapidly but others only fully ripe five weeks after wasp emergence.[7] Two to four crops of figs can be produced in a year.[11] Ficus subpisocarpa is pollinated by fig wasps in the genus Platyscapa (Agaonidae),[7] specifically P. ishiiana.[citation needed]
Distribution and habitat
The nominate subspecies is found from Southern Japan, Taiwan, Hainan and eastern China (where it occurs in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, southern Yunnan and southeastern Zhejiang provinces), through Vietnam, Laos and Thailand into Indonesia where it reaches Ceram in the Moluccas. It is possibly found in Cambodia.[2][8] Subspecies pubipoda is found in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia.[2]
Both subspecies are found in deciduous and evergreen forests, the nominate at low altitudes and subspecies pubipoda to 1,400 m (4,600 ft).[2]