Ficus itoana
Diels
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Wikimedia Commons - Arthur Chapman
gbif· cc0
President and Fellows of Harvard College
gbif· cc0
President and Fellows of Harvard College
Description
A fig. It is a tree with small buttresses. The bark is thin. The leaves are green on the top surface with white veins and underneath the leaf is light dull green. The leaf is 29 cm long by 12 cm wide. The leaf stalk is 7 cm long. There are 8 to 10 pairs of side veins. The fruit are bright green and turn red. They are pear shaped with small bracts near the base. The fruit are produced on the stem below the leaves on a thick, rough twig. The fruit are 2 cm across.
Edible Uses
Both the young leaves and fruit are eaten.
Traditional Uses
The young leaves are eaten.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Distribution
A tropical plant.
Where It Grows
Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG,
Notes
There are about 800-1000 Ficus species. They are mostly in the tropics. There are 120 Ficus species in tropical America.
References (5)
- Borrell, O.W., 1989, An Annotated Checklist of the Flora of Kairiru Island, New Guinea. Marcellin College, Victoria Australia. p 106, 201
- Plants of Papua New Guinea LAE herbarium record
- Powell, J.M., Ethnobotany. In Paijmans, K., 1976, New Guinea Vegetation. Australian National University Press. p 110
- Walter, A. & Sam C., 2002, Fruits of Oceania. ACIAR Monograph No. 85. Canberra. p 279
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
