Ficus politoria
Lam.
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(c) Julien Renoult, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Julien Renoult
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Franck Rakotonasolo, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Franck Rakotonasolo, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Description
A tropical shrub or tree in the fig family (Moraceae) that grows in forests from sea level to 2,500 m elevation, tolerating both dry and humid conditions.
Edible Uses
The fruit is edible.
Medicinal Uses
In traditional medicine in Madagascar a decoction of the young leaf or bud is taken for the treatment of stomach-ache. An infusion of the leaf is given as a tonic to sick people. The abrasive leaf surface is used to scarify the skin to promote penetration of medicines.
Distribution
It is a tropical plant. It grows in forests and can grow from sea level to 2,500 m above sea level. It can grow in dry and humid areas.
Where It Grows
Africa, East Africa, Madagascar,
Cultivation
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. A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.
Other Uses
The leaf is used as sandpaper to polish wood and metals. The pounded bark was formerly used for making loincloth. The wood is used in the construction of house frames.
Synonyms
Also Known As
Ampaliala
References (1)
- malagasywords.org (As Ficus soroceoides)
