Ficus racemosa

Ficus racemosa, the cluster fig, red river fig or gular (Hindi: गूलर), is a species of plant in the mulberry family Moraceae. It is native to tropical Asia and Australia. It is a fast-growing plant with large, very coarse leaves, attaining the size of a large shrub or even larger in old specimens. A distinctive feature of its growth habit is the cauliflorous nature of its fruiting, where the syconia (figs) grow in dense clusters directly from the trunk and larger branches. The ripe figs are a favourite food of the rhesus macaque, and the plant also serves as a host for the caterpillars of the two-brand crow butterfly (Euploea sylvester) of northern Australia. The species is of cultural importance in Hinduism and Buddhism. The tree is also important to native people of Borneo such as in Sabah, Malaysia, where it is called Nunuk Ragang.

Description

A fig. It is an medium sized evergreen spreading tree. Plants can loose many leaves during the dry season. It grows to 12-20 m high and spreads to 5-10 m across. The trunk can be 60-90 cm across. The stem is erect and branching. There are often buttresses at the base. The bark is smooth and pale grey. It does not have aerial or strangling roots. The leaves are produced alternately. They are oval and taper towards the tip. They are 7-22 cm long and 3-9 cm across. The leaf stalk is 1-6 cm long. Flowers are very small and male and female flowers are enclosed in the fig receptacle. The fruit are large fleshy yellow and red figs. They are 5 cm across. They occur in dense clusters on the trunk and main branches. They are velvety when young and become smooth with age. When ripe they often split open. There are some varieties named based on the hairiness of the young parts. The figs are edible.

Edible Uses

The fruit, up to 25mm in diameter, is eaten raw or cooked. It is sweet but rather insipid and is used in various preserves and side dishes. Unripe fruits are pickled and used in soups. The fruit can also be dried and ground into a flour, then eaten with sugar and milk, and powder from roasted fruits makes a valuable breakfast food. In times of scarcity, unripe fruit is pounded, mixed with flour, and made into cakes. Leaves are eaten as a vegetable, and young shoots can be eaten raw or cooked. The roots can be cut to provide a drinkable liquid used as water.

Traditional Uses

The ripe fruit are eaten fresh. The fruit are usually eaten green as a vegetable. They are also dried and ground into flour and eaten with sugar and milk. The powder from roasted fruits are used as a breakfast cereal. The young leaves are eaten in salads. They are also cooked. The fruit are also used for jam.

Medicinal Uses

The leaves are used in the treatment of diarrhoea. The bark is astringent and is used for haematuria, menorrhagia, and haemoptysis; the fruit is similarly astringent and used for the same conditions. Fruit filled with sugar is considered very cooling. Liquid from cut roots is regarded as a powerful tonic when drunk over several consecutive days. The sap is applied locally in the Bombay region as a remedy for mumps and other inflammatory glandular enlargements, and is also used in the treatment of gonorrhoea. The root is chewed as a treatment for tonsillitis.

Known Hazards

The sap is poisonous and should not be ingested, it can also cause skin irritations so wear gloves when pruning and if you get sap on your skin rinse off immediately with water.

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. It does best in humus rich, moist soil. It needs to be well drained. It suits a sheltered sunny position. It is damaged by drought and frost. It occurs naturally along the banks of lowland freshwater streams in the monsoonal vine forests. It can cope with being flooded for short periods. In Nepal it grows up to 1000 m altitude. In Sikkim it grows between 400-1,000 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 9-12. In Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Africa, Andamans, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, East Africa, East Timor, Egypt, Ethiopia, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Africa, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, PNG, SE Asia, Sikkim, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, USA, Vietnam,

Cultivation

Succeeds in full sun to partial shade. Succeeds in most soils that are reasonably moist but well-drained. Cluster fig is resistant to fire. 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.

Propagation

Seed germinates best at around 20°C. Propagation is also possible by air layering or tip cuttings approximately 4–12cm long, taken from lateral branches.

Other Uses

The tree is cultivated to shade coffee trees. Its deep, wide-spreading root system makes it useful for stabilising slopes, gullies, and riverbanks. The leaves provide a valuable mulch. The plant is used as a rootstock for the common fig, Ficus carica. The bark contains tannin. The latex is used in producing water-resistant paper and as a plasticiser for Hevea rubber. The straw-coloured wood is coarse-grained, lightweight, soft, and porous — not durable above ground, though it lasts well under water and is therefore used for well frames. It serves low-quality purposes such as minor construction, cheap furniture, packing cases, mouldings, laundry tubs, and fruit crates. The wood is also used as fuel.

Production

In Australia, fruiting is mainly June to December but can be at other times. In India fruiting is March to August. A tree can produce 100 kg of fruit.

Other Information

The fruit are eaten especially by children. The leaves are sold in local markets.

Notes

There are about 800-1000 Ficus species. They are mostly in the tropics. There are 120 Ficus species in tropical America. Fruit are rich in calcium.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Adam, Adumbra, Alarva, Anai, Anjir, Anmanarlinj, Arah, Athi, Attikka, Attimara, Batbar, Bedulo, Blue fig, Channahei, Co dua, Country fig, Cowarah, Crattock, Daduri, Dermi, Dimere, Dimeri, Dimiri, Dhumbru khausa, Dumbre, Dumri, Dumur, Elo, Ge long bie biu, Goolar, Gular, Gullar, Guo de, Jagadumur, Jagana gulo, Jagga damur, Jagya dimoru, Jagya dumur, Jatkala, Jogdumur Ju guo rong, Konangsing, Lelka, Loa, Loa dari, Lo, Loh, Lovear, Lovie thom, Madier, Maduea-uthumpon, Mo luo si, Ongu, Oormal, Oremal, Palak, Pale, Paroa, Pohon ara kalimera, Red river fig, Redwood fig, Rumbal, Stem-fruit fig, Sung, Tak:piang, Tang bule, Tha-phan, Thathesu, Theichang, Thei-chek, Thei thot, Toya, Trimbal, Umar, Umbar, Umber, Umri, Uvring, Plaksha, Kahimal, Kaim, Keol, Pakar, Pakur, Bassari, Dhedumbara, Gandhaumbara, Pepri, Badijuvvi, Jati, Jovi, Kallal, Kurugatti, Suvi, Basari, Juvvi, Kari-basari, Bakri, Chakkila, Chela

References (146)

• Abdel-Hameed, E. S., 2009, Total phenolic contents and free radical scavenging activity of certain Egyptian Ficus species leaf samples. Food Chemistry 114: 1271-1277 (As Ficus glomerata)
• Acharya K. P. and Acharya, R., 2010, Eating from the Wild: Indigenous knowledge on wild edible plants in Parroha VDC of Rupandehi District, Central Nepal. International Journal of Social Forestry. 3(1):28-48
• Ajesh, T. P., et al, 2012, Ethnobotanical Documentation of Wild Edible Fruits used by Muthuvan Tribes of Idukki, Kerala-India. International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences 3(3): 479-487
• Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 223 (As Ficus lanceolata and Ficus lucescens)
• Anderson, E. F., 1993, Plants and people of the Golden Triangle. Dioscorides Press. p 211

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