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{{Short description|Species of fig}}
{{italic title}}{{taxobox
{{Speciesbox
|name = Red-leaved fig
|name = Red-leaved fig
|image = Ficus ingens, habitus, b, Skeerpoort.jpg
|image = Ficus ingens, habitus, b, Skeerpoort.jpg
⚫
|image2 = Ficus ingens 3c.JPG
|image_caption = Rock-splitting habit on cliff face
|image2_caption = A specimen exhibiting a rock-splitting habit, and a flush of red new leaves
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|image2 = Ficus ingens, rooi blare, Groenkloof NR.jpg
|status = LC
| image2_caption = Red new leaves
|status_system = IUCN3.1
|regnum = [[Plantae]]
|status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author1=[[Botanic Gardens Conservation International]] (BGCI) & IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group |year=2019 |title=''Ficus ingens'' |volume=2019 |page=e.T146188374A146218605 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T146188374A146218605.en |access-date=27 July 2024}}</ref>
|unranked_divisio = [[Angiosperms]]
|taxon = Ficus ingens
|unranked_classis = [[Eudicots]]
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|authority = ([[Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel|Miq.]]) Miq.
|unranked_ordo = [[Rosids]]
|synonyms = *''Urostigma ingens'' <small>Miq.</small>
|ordo = [[Rosales]]
*''Urostigma xanthophyllum'' <small>Miq.</small>
|familia = [[Moraceae]]
*''Urostigma afrum'' <small>Miq.</small>
|genus = ''[[Ficus]]''
*''Ficus schimperiana'' <small>[[Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter|Hochst.]] ex [[Achille Richard|A.Rich.]]</small>
|species = '''''F. ingens'''''
*''Urostigma xanthophyllum'' var. ''ovatocordatum'' <small>[[Otto Wilhelm Sonder|Sond.]]</small>
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|binomial = ''Ficus ingens''
*''Ficus afra'' <small>(Miq.) Miq.</small>
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|binomial_authority = ([[Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel|Miq.]]) Miq. 1867
*''Ficus xanthophylla'' <small>(Miq.) [[Ugolino Martelli|Martelli]]</small>
|synonyms =
* ''Ficus caffra'' <small>(Miq.) Miq.</small>
*''Ficus stuhlmannii'' var. ''glabrifolia'' <small>[[Otto Warburg (botanist)|Warb.]]</small>
* ''Ficus ingentoides'' <small>Hutch.</small>
*''Ficus afra'' var. ''longipes'' <small>Warb.</small>
* ''Ficus katagumica'' <small>Hutch.</small>
*''Ficus afra'' var. ''natalensis'' <small>Warb.</small>
* ''Ficus kawuri'' <small>Hutch.</small>
*''Ficus afra'' var. ''pubicarpa'' <small>Warb.</small>
* ''Ficus magenjensis'' <small>Sim</small>
*''Ficus afra'' var. ''sambesiaca'' <small>Warb.</small>
* ''Ficus ovatocordata'' <small>De Wild.</small>
*''Ficus pondoensis'' <small>Warb.</small>
* ''Ficus pondoensis'' <small>Warb.</small>
*''Ficus magenjensis'' <small>[[Thomas Robertson Sim|Sim]]</small>
* ''Ficus schimperiana'' <small>Hochst. ex Miq.</small>
*''Ficus ingentoides'' <small>[[John Hutchinson (botanist)|Hutch.]]</small>
* ''Urostigma ingens'' <small>Miq.</small>
*''Ficus katagumica'' <small>Hutch.</small>
*''Ficus kawuri'' <small>Hutch.</small>
|synonyms_ref = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-2810862|title=The Plant List}}</ref>
*''Ficus ovatocordata'' <small>[[Émile Auguste Joseph De Wildeman|De Wild.]]</small>
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|}}
*''Ficus ingens'' var. ''tomentosa'' <small>Hutch.</small>
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The '''Red-leaved fig''' (''Ficus ingens'') is a fig species with an extensive range in the subtropical to dry tropical regions<ref name=apd>{{cite web|title=''Ficus ingens'' (Miq.) Miq. |url=http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/details.php?langue=an&id=149001 |work=African Plant Database |publisher=Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques & South African National Biodiversity Institute |accessdate=5 May 2013}}</ref> of Africa and southern [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]].<ref name=iziko>{{cite web |last1=van Noort |first1=S., Rasplus, J. |title=Ficus ingens (Miquel) Miquel 1867 |url=http://www.figweb.org/Ficus/Subgenus_Urostigma/Section_Urostigma/Subsection_Urostigma/Ficus_ingens.htm |website=Figweb |publisher=isiko museums |accessdate=5 November 2014}}</ref> Despite its specific name, which means "huge", or "vast", it is usually a shrub or tree of modest proportions.<ref name=kcp>{{cite book |last=Palgrave |first=K. C. |title=Trees of Southern Africa |year=1984 |publisher=Struik |location=Cape Town |isbn=0-86977-081-0 |page=110}}</ref> It is a fig of variable habit depending on the local climate and substrate, typically a stunted [[subshrub]] on elevated rocky ridges, or potentially a large tree on warmer plains and lowlands. In 1829 the missionary [[Robert Moffat (missionary)|Robert Moffat]] found a rare giant specimen, into which seventeen thatch huts of a native tribe were placed, so as to be out of reach of lions.<ref name=plantz>{{cite web |last1=Jordaan |first1=Marie |title=Ficus ingens (Miq.) Miq. |url=http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantefg/ficusingens.htm |website=plantzafrica.com |publisher=SANBI |accessdate=4 November 2014}}</ref><ref group = note>Moffat relates it thus: "My attention was arrested by a beautiful and gigantic tree [a species of ''ficus''], standing in a defile ... Seeing some individuals employed under its shade ... and houses in miniature protruding through its evergreen foliage, I proceeded thither, and found that the tree was inhabited by several families of [[List of Sotho-Tswana clans|Bakone]]s, ... I ascended by the notched trunk, and found, to my amazement, no less than seventeen of these aerial abodes, and three others unfinished. On reaching the topmost [30 feet up], I entered, and sat down. I asked a woman who sat at the door permission to eat [a bowl full of locusts]. This she granted with pleasure, ... and soon brought me more ... Several more females came from the neighbouring roosts, stepping from branch to branch, to see the stranger, ... I then visited the different abodes, which were on several principal branches. ... A person can nearly stand upright in it: the diameter of the floor is about six feet [with] a little square space before the door." See: {{cite book |last1=Moffat |first1=Robert | authorlink = Robert Moffat (missionary) |title=Missionary Labours and Scenes in Southern Africa |date=1842 |publisher=J. Snow |pages=519-520: The inhabited tree |accessdate=26 May 2015}}</ref><ref group = note>In the 1960s the tree was rediscovered by [[Eve Palmer]] at Boshoek north of [[Rustenburg]]. By the 1970s though, it had begun to collapse under its own weight. ''cf''. {{cite book |last1=Swart |first1=W. J. |title=Die Wildevy: boom van die jaar 1984 |date=1984 |publisher=Government Printer, Direktoraat van Boswese van die Departement van Omgewingsake, Pamflet 317 |location=Pretoria |isbn=0621083674}}</ref>
|synonyms_ref = <ref name=POWO>{{cite web |title=''Ficus ingens'' (Miq.) Miq. |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:853021-1 |website=[[Plants of the World Online]] |publisher=[[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] |access-date=27 July 2024}}</ref>
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}}


⚫
'''''Ficus ingens''''', the '''red-leaved fig''', is a fig species with an extensive range in the subtropical to dry tropical regions<ref name=apd>{{cite web|title=''Ficus ingens'' (Miq.) Miq. |url=http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/details.php?langue=an&id=149001 |work=African Plant Database |publisher=Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques & South African National Biodiversity Institute |accessdate=5 May 2013}}</ref> of Africa and southern [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]].<ref name=iziko>{{cite web|last1=van Noort |first1=S. |last2=Rasplus |first2=J. |title=Ficus ingens (Miquel) Miquel 1867 |url=http://www.figweb.org/Ficus/Subgenus_Urostigma/Section_Urostigma/Subsection_Urostigma/Ficus_ingens.htm |website=Figweb |publisher=isiko museums |accessdate=5 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105145631/http://www.figweb.org/Ficus/Subgenus_Urostigma/Section_Urostigma/Subsection_Urostigma/Ficus_ingens.htm |archivedate=5 November 2014 }}</ref> Despite its specific name, which means "huge", or "vast", it is usually a shrub or tree of modest proportions.<ref name=kcp>{{cite book |last=Palgrave |first=K. C. |title=Trees of Southern Africa |year=1984 |publisher=Struik |location=Cape Town |isbn=0-86977-081-0 |page=110}}</ref> It is a fig of variable habit depending on the local climate and substrate, typically a stunted [[subshrub]] on elevated rocky ridges, or potentially a large tree on warmer plains and lowlands. In 1829 the missionary [[Robert Moffat (missionary)|Robert Moffat]] found a rare giant specimen, into which seventeen thatch huts of a native tribe were placed, so as to be out of reach of lions.<ref name=plantz>{{cite web |last1=Jordaan |first1=Marie |title=Ficus ingens (Miq.) Miq. |url=http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantefg/ficusingens.htm |website=PlantZAfrica.com |publisher=SANBI |accessdate=4 November 2014}}</ref><ref group = note>Moffat relates it thus: "My attention was arrested by a beautiful and gigantic tree [a species of ''ficus''], standing in a defile ... Seeing some individuals employed under its shade ... and houses in miniature protruding through its evergreen foliage, I proceeded thither, and found that the tree was inhabited by several families of [[List of Sotho-Tswana clans|Bakone]]s, ... I ascended by the notched trunk, and found, to my amazement, no less than seventeen of these aerial abodes, and three others unfinished. On reaching the topmost [30 feet up], I entered, and sat down. I asked a woman who sat at the door permission to eat [a bowl full of locusts]. This she granted with pleasure, ... and soon brought me more ... Several more females came from the neighbouring roosts, stepping from branch to branch, to see the stranger, ... I then visited the different abodes, which were on several principal branches. ... A person can nearly stand upright in it: the diameter of the floor is about six feet [with] a little square space before the door." See: {{cite book |last1=Moffat |first1=Robert | authorlink = Robert Moffat (missionary) |title=Missionary Labours and Scenes in Southern Africa |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.41517 |date=1842 |publisher=J. Snow |pages=519–520: The inhabited tree }}</ref><ref group = note>In the 1960s the tree was rediscovered by [[Eve Palmer]] at Boshoek north of [[Rustenburg]]. By the 1970s though, it had begun to collapse under its own weight. ''cf''. {{cite book |last1=Swart |first1=W. J. |title=Die Wildevy: boom van die jaar 1984 |date=1984 |publisher=Government Printer, Direktoraat van Boswese van die Departement van Omgewingsake, Pamflet 317 |location=Pretoria |isbn=0621083674}}</ref>
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==Range and habitat==

[[File:Ficus ingens, habitus, Phalandingwe, c.jpg|thumb|Growing from a slate fissure at Pelindaba, South Africa]]
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==Distribution and habitat==
It is extant in the [[Saharan montane xeric woodlands|Saharo-montane woodlands]]{{dn|date=October 2015}} of the [[Tassili n'Ajjer]], the [[Hoggar Mountains|Hoggar]], [[Aïr Mountains|Aïr]] and [[Tibesti Mountains|Tibesti mountains]], and the Kerkour Nourene massif.<ref name=apd/> It is widespread in northern and eastern [[sub-Saharan Africa]],<ref name=trop>{{cite web|title=Records: Ficus ingens (Miq.) Miq. |url=http://www.tropicos.org/Name/21300848?tab=specimens |website=Tropicos |publisher=Missouri Botanical Garden |accessdate=4 November 2014}}</ref> with a more or less contiguous range from [[Senegal]] in the west, eastwards to [[Eritrea]], and southwards to the [[Eastern Cape]], South Africa. It is found on rock faces and outcrops, rocky slopes, riparian and wadi fringes, and in dense woodlands.<ref name=kcp/> Substrates include lava flows, coral and limestone in drier, exposed areas,<ref name=apd/> and sandstone or dolomite in [[bushveld]].<ref name=winter>{{cite book |last1=De Winter |first1=B. & M.| last2= Killick |first2= D. J. B.| authorlink = Bernard de Winter |title=Sixty-Six Transvaal Trees |date=1966 |publisher=National Tree List for South Africa |pages=24–25}}</ref>
It is widespread in northern and eastern [[sub-Saharan Africa]],<ref name=trop>{{cite web|title=Records: Ficus ingens (Miq.) Miq. |url=http://www.tropicos.org/Name/21300848?tab=specimens |website=Tropicos |publisher=Missouri Botanical Garden |accessdate=4 November 2014}}</ref> with a more or less contiguous range from [[Senegal]] in the west, eastwards to [[Eritrea]], and southwards to the [[Eastern Cape]], South Africa. It is extant in the [[Saharan montane xeric woodlands (disambiguation)|Saharo-montane woodlands]]<!--intentional link to DAB page--> of the [[Tassili n'Ajjer]], the [[Hoggar Mountains|Hoggar]], [[Aïr Mountains|Aïr]] and [[Tibesti Mountains|Tibesti mountains]], and the Kerkour Nourene massif.<ref name=apd/> It is also found in southernmost [[Oman]], mainly in the region south of [[Dhofar]], called [[Salalah]]. It is found on rock faces and outcrops, rocky slopes, riparian and wadi fringes, and in dense woodlands.<ref name=kcp/> Substrates include lava flows, coral and limestone in drier, exposed areas,<ref name=apd/> and sandstone or dolomite in [[bushveld]].<ref name=winter>{{cite book |last1=De Winter |first1=B. |first2=M. |last2=De Winter | last3= Killick |first3= D. J. B.| authorlink = Bernard de Winter |title=Sixty-Six Transvaal Trees |date=1966 |publisher=National Tree List for South Africa |pages=24–25}}</ref>


==Description==
==Description==
{{multiple image
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The smooth and leathery, dull-green leaves are narrowly ovate-oblong, bright red-brown when young,<ref name=palmer>{{cite book |last=Palmer |first=Eve |authorlink=Eve Palmer |title=A Field Guide to the Trees of Southern Africa |pages = 90–91 | year=1977 |publisher=Collins |location=London, Johannesburg |isbn=0-620-05468-9}}</ref> with conspicuous yellow veins that are prominent beneath<ref name=wits/> and loop along the leaf margin.<ref name=plantz/> A leaf measures some 16.5 by 8.5&nbsp;cm,<ref name=plantz/> with the base mostly square<ref name=kcp/> or [[leaf shape|cordate]],<ref name=palmer/> sometimes broadly rounded, and the apex tapering to a blunt point.<ref name=sterk/> Old leaves turn to a reddish-copper colour in autumn.<ref name=wits/>
| direction = vertical
| align = left
| caption_align = center
| width = 250


| image1 = Ficus ingens, habitus, Phalandingwe, b.jpg
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The almost spherical figs are produced year-round but mainly in summer.<ref name=plantz/> They are .9 to 1.2&nbsp;cm<ref name=myb/> in diameter and carried on very short stalks, just below or among the terminal cluster of leaves.<ref name=sterk/> They ripen first to a white and eventually a purple<ref name=palmer/> or yellowish-brown colour.<ref name=wits>{{cite book |title=Trees and Shrubs of the Witwatersrand |year=1974 |publisher=Tree Society of South Africa, Witwatersrand University Press |location=Johannesburg |isbn=0-85494-236-X |pages=24–25}}</ref>
| alt1 =
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| caption1 = Covering a north west facing rock surface at [[Pelindaba]], South Africa

⚫
| image2 = Ficus ingens, habitus, Phalandingwe, c.jpg
| alt2 =
| caption2 = Growing from a slate fissure at Pelindaba
}}
⚫
The smooth and leathery, dull-green leaves are narrowly ovate oblong, bright red brown when young,<ref name=palmer>{{cite book |last=Palmer |first=Eve |authorlink=Eve Palmer |title=A Field Guide to the Trees of Southern Africa |pages = 90–91 | year=1977 |publisher=Collins |location=London, Johannesburg |isbn=0-620-05468-9}}</ref> with conspicuous yellow veins that are prominent beneath<ref name=wits/> and loop along the leaf margin.<ref name=plantz/> A leaf measures some {{convert|16.5|by|8.5|cm}},<ref name=plantz/> with the base mostly square<ref name=kcp/> or [[leaf shape|cordate]],<ref name=palmer/> sometimes broadly rounded, and the apex tapering to a blunt point.<ref name=sterk/> Old leaves turn to a reddish-copper colour in autumn.<ref name=wits/>

⚫
The almost spherical figs are produced year-round but mainly in summer.<ref name=plantz/> They are {{convert|0.9|to|1.2|cm}}<ref name=myb/> in diameter and carried on very short stalks, just below or among the terminal cluster of leaves.<ref name=sterk/> They ripen first to a white and eventually a purple<ref name=palmer/> or yellowish-brown colour.<ref name=wits>{{cite book |title=Trees and Shrubs of the Witwatersrand |year=1974 |publisher=Tree Society of South Africa, Witwatersrand University Press |location=Johannesburg |isbn=0-85494-236-X |pages=24–25}}</ref>


The smooth bark is pale grey, while younger branches have a yellow tinge.<ref name=sterk/> Bruised or cut stems and leaves exude a non-toxic, milky latex.<ref name=wits/>
The smooth bark is pale grey, while younger branches have a yellow tinge.<ref name=sterk/> Bruised or cut stems and leaves exude a non-toxic, milky latex.<ref name=wits/>


==Habit and variation==
==Habit and variation==
It is deciduous or semi-deciduous and may form a subshrub or shrub, or may form a rounded crown, upwards of 5 meters tall, in sheltered conditions.<ref name=wits/> In the warm lowveld they may form a spreading canopy up to 15 meters tall, with a bole 2 meters in diameter.<ref name=sterk>{{cite book |last1=Mogg |first1=A. O. D. |title=Important plants of Sterkfontein |date=1975 |publisher=University of the Witwatersrand |location=Johannesburg |isbn=0-85494-426-5 |pages=78–79}}</ref> In the [[Magaliesberg]] and [[Witwatersrand]] bankenveld they typically straddle boulders or are closely pressed to sunny, north to west-facing (in southern hemisphere) rock faces. Plants of the [[Eastern Cape]] are more tomentose.<ref name=wits/>
It is deciduous or semi-deciduous and may form a subshrub or shrub, or may form a rounded crown, upwards of {{convert|5|m}} tall, in sheltered conditions.<ref name=wits/> In the warm lowveld they may form a spreading canopy up to {{convert|15|m}} tall, with a bole {{convert|2|m|ft}} in diameter.<ref name=sterk>{{cite book |last1=Mogg |first1=A. O. D. |title=Important plants of Sterkfontein |date=1975 |publisher=University of the Witwatersrand |location=Johannesburg |isbn=0-85494-426-5 |pages=78–79}}</ref> In the [[Magaliesberg]] and [[Witwatersrand]] bankenveld they typically straddle boulders or are closely pressed to sunny, north to west-facing (in southern hemisphere) rock faces. Plants of the [[Eastern Cape]] are more [[tomentose]].<ref name=wits/>


==Uses and species interactions==
==Uses and species interactions==
In northern Nigeria the figs, and in Kenya the leaves and figs, have been recorded as famine food.<ref name=purdue>{{cite web |last1=Freedman |first1=Robert |title=Famine Foods: Moraceae |url=http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/FamineFoods/ff_families/MORACEAE.html#Ficus%20ingens |website=Purdue Agriculture |accessdate=6 November 2014}}</ref> In South Africa a decoction of the bark mixed with cow feed is said to increase the flow of milk,<ref name=lansky>{{cite book|last1=Lansky |first1=E. P., Paavilainen, H. M. |title=Figs: The Genus Ficus, Traditional Herbal Medicines for Modern Times |date=2010 |publisher=CRC Press |location=Hoboken |isbn=1420089676 |page=99}}</ref> though the leaves have been shown to be toxic to cattle, and sometimes to sheep.<ref name=myb>{{cite journal |last1=Myburgh |first1=J. G.|title=A nervous disorder in cattle cause by the plants Ficus ingens var. ingens and Ficus cordata subsp. salicifolia |journal=Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research |date=1994 |issue=61 |pages=171–176 |url=http://www.repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/32751/19myburgh1994.pdf?sequence=1 |accessdate=5 November 2014|display-authors=etal}}</ref> When ripe, the figs are readily eaten by several species of bird.<ref name=sterk/> The pollinator wasp is ''[[Platyscapa|Platyscapa soraria]]'' <small>Wiebes.</small>, while ''[[Otitesella longicauda]]'' and ''[[Otitesella rotunda|O. rotunda]]'' are non-pollinators.<ref name=iziko/>
In northern Nigeria the figs, and in Kenya the leaves and figs, have been recorded as famine food.<ref name=purdue>{{cite web |last1= Freedman |first1=Robert |title=Famine Foods: Moraceae |url= http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/FamineFoods/ff_families/MORACEAE.html#Ficus%20ingens |website=Purdue Agriculture |accessdate=6 November 2014}}</ref> In South Africa a decoction of the bark mixed with cow feed is said to increase the flow of milk,<ref name=lansky>{{cite book|last1=Lansky |first1=E. P. |last2=Paavilainen |first2=H. M. |title=Figs: The Genus Ficus, Traditional Herbal Medicines for Modern Times |date=2010 |publisher=CRC Press |location=Hoboken |isbn=978-1420089677 |page=99}}</ref> though the leaves have been shown to be toxic to cattle, and sometimes to sheep.<ref name=myb>{{cite journal |last1=Myburgh |first1=Jan G.|last2=Fourie |first2=Niel |last3=Kellerman |first3=T. Stephanus |last4=Cornelius |first4=S.T. |last5=Ward |first5=Caroline |last6=Van der Lugt |first6=Jaco J. |last7=Verwoerd |first7=Daniel Wynand |title=A nervous disorder in cattle cause by the plants Ficus ingens var. ingens and Ficus cordata subsp. salicifolia |journal=Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research |date=1994 |issue=61 |pages=171–176 |url=http://www.repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/32751/19myburgh1994.pdf?sequence=1 |accessdate=5 November 2014 |hdl=2263/32751}}</ref> When ripe, the figs are readily eaten by several species of bird.<ref name=sterk/> The pollinator wasp is ''[[Platyscapa|Platyscapa soraria]]'' <small>Wiebes.</small>, while ''[[Otitesella longicauda]]'' and ''[[Otitesella rotunda|O. rotunda]]'' are non-pollinators.<ref name=iziko/>


==Similar species==
==Similar species==
⚫
[[File:Ficus ingens, habitus, Phalandingwe, b.jpg|thumb|Covering a north west facing rock surface at Pelindaba, South Africa]]
It is similar to the [[Ficus salicifolia|Wonderboom]] fig, which has a broadly overlapping range and occurs in comparable habitat. They differ with respect to leaf shape, venation and colour, besides the size and colour of the figs. The Wonderboom is always a tree,<ref name=kcp/> and has elliptic-oblong leaves with a rounded bases, that are never bright red-brown.<ref name=palmer/> Its figs are much smaller and mature to yellow-red. The [[Ficus natalensis|Natal fig]] has the base of the leaf narrowly tapered.<ref name=kcp/>
It is similar to the [[Ficus salicifolia|Wonderboom]] fig, which has a broadly overlapping range and occurs in comparable habitat. They differ with respect to leaf shape, venation and colour, besides the size and colour of the figs. The Wonderboom is always a tree,<ref name=kcp/> and has elliptic-oblong leaves with a rounded bases, that are never bright red-brown.<ref name=palmer/> Its figs are much smaller and mature to yellow-red. The [[Ficus natalensis|Natal fig]] has the base of the leaf narrowly tapered.<ref name=kcp/>


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
<gallery mode=packed heights=160 style="font-size:100%; line-height:130%">
<gallery>
File:Ficus ingens, Wonderboom Natuurreservaat.jpg|<center>Subshrub on sunny slope</center>
File:Ficus ingens, Wonderboom Natuurreservaat.jpg|{{center|Subshrub on sunny slope}}
File:Ficus ingens, Merops-konf, a.jpg|<center>Foliage</center>
File:Ficus ingens, Merops-konf, a.jpg|{{center|Foliage}}
File:Ficus ingens, vye, Eugene Marais Park, d.jpg|<center>Figs</center>
File:Ficus ingens, vye, Eugene Marais Park, d.jpg|{{center|Figs}}
File:Ficus ingens, vye, Eugene Marais Park, a.jpg|<center>Fig placement</center>
File:Ficus ingens, vye, Eugene Marais Park, a.jpg|{{center|Fig placement}}
</gallery>
</gallery>


==Notes==
==Notes==
[[image:Baynes - The Inhabited Tree (1835).png|thumb|right|The inhabited tree]]
{{reflist|group=note}}
{{Reflist|group=note}}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist|25em}}

⚫
{{Commons category-inline|Ficus ingens|''Ficus ingens''}}
==External links==
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* {{Commons category-inline|Ficus ingens|''Ficus ingens''}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q3071413}}


[[Category:Ficus|ingens]]
[[Category:Trees of Africa]]
[[Category:Trees of Africa]]
[[Category:Flora of Southern Africa]]
[[Category:Afrotropical realm flora]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1847]]

Latest revision as of 08:33, 14 August 2024

Red-leaved fig
A specimen exhibiting a rock-splitting habit, and a flush of red new leaves
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Moraceae
Genus: Ficus
Species:
F. ingens
Binomial name
Ficus ingens
(Miq.) Miq.
Synonyms[2]
  • Urostigma ingens Miq.
  • Urostigma xanthophyllum Miq.
  • Urostigma afrum Miq.
  • Ficus schimperiana Hochst. ex A.Rich.
  • Urostigma xanthophyllum var. ovatocordatum Sond.
  • Ficus afra (Miq.) Miq.
  • Ficus xanthophylla (Miq.) Martelli
  • Ficus stuhlmannii var. glabrifolia Warb.
  • Ficus afra var. longipes Warb.
  • Ficus afra var. natalensis Warb.
  • Ficus afra var. pubicarpa Warb.
  • Ficus afra var. sambesiaca Warb.
  • Ficus pondoensis Warb.
  • Ficus magenjensis Sim
  • Ficus ingentoides Hutch.
  • Ficus katagumica Hutch.
  • Ficus kawuri Hutch.
  • Ficus ovatocordata De Wild.
  • Ficus ingens var. tomentosa Hutch.

Ficus ingens, the red-leaved fig, is a fig species with an extensive range in the subtropical to dry tropical regions[3] of Africa and southern Arabia.[4] Despite its specific name, which means "huge", or "vast", it is usually a shrub or tree of modest proportions.[5] It is a fig of variable habit depending on the local climate and substrate, typically a stunted subshrub on elevated rocky ridges, or potentially a large tree on warmer plains and lowlands. In 1829 the missionary Robert Moffat found a rare giant specimen, into which seventeen thatch huts of a native tribe were placed, so as to be out of reach of lions.[6][note 1][note 2]

Distribution and habitat

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It is widespread in northern and eastern sub-Saharan Africa,[7] with a more or less contiguous range from Senegal in the west, eastwards to Eritrea, and southwards to the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is extant in the Saharo-montane woodlands of the Tassili n'Ajjer, the Hoggar, Aïr and Tibesti mountains, and the Kerkour Nourene massif.[3] It is also found in southernmost Oman, mainly in the region south of Dhofar, called Salalah. It is found on rock faces and outcrops, rocky slopes, riparian and wadi fringes, and in dense woodlands.[5] Substrates include lava flows, coral and limestone in drier, exposed areas,[3] and sandstone or dolomite in bushveld.[8]

Description

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Covering a north west facing rock surface at Pelindaba, South Africa
Growing from a slate fissure at Pelindaba

The smooth and leathery, dull-green leaves are narrowly ovate oblong, bright red brown when young,[9] with conspicuous yellow veins that are prominent beneath[10] and loop along the leaf margin.[6] A leaf measures some 16.5 by 8.5 centimetres (6.5 by 3.3 in),[6] with the base mostly square[5] or cordate,[9] sometimes broadly rounded, and the apex tapering to a blunt point.[11] Old leaves turn to a reddish-copper colour in autumn.[10]

The almost spherical figs are produced year-round but mainly in summer.[6] They are 0.9 to 1.2 centimetres (0.35 to 0.47 in)[12] in diameter and carried on very short stalks, just below or among the terminal cluster of leaves.[11] They ripen first to a white and eventually a purple[9] or yellowish-brown colour.[10]

The smooth bark is pale grey, while younger branches have a yellow tinge.[11] Bruised or cut stems and leaves exude a non-toxic, milky latex.[10]

Habit and variation

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It is deciduous or semi-deciduous and may form a subshrub or shrub, or may form a rounded crown, upwards of 5 metres (16 ft) tall, in sheltered conditions.[10] In the warm lowveld they may form a spreading canopy up to 15 metres (49 ft) tall, with a bole 2 metres (6.6 ft) in diameter.[11] In the Magaliesberg and Witwatersrand bankenveld they typically straddle boulders or are closely pressed to sunny, north to west-facing (in southern hemisphere) rock faces. Plants of the Eastern Cape are more tomentose.[10]

Uses and species interactions

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In northern Nigeria the figs, and in Kenya the leaves and figs, have been recorded as famine food.[13] In South Africa a decoction of the bark mixed with cow feed is said to increase the flow of milk,[14] though the leaves have been shown to be toxic to cattle, and sometimes to sheep.[12] When ripe, the figs are readily eaten by several species of bird.[11] The pollinator wasp is Platyscapa soraria Wiebes., while Otitesella longicauda and O. rotunda are non-pollinators.[4]

Similar species

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It is similar to the Wonderboom fig, which has a broadly overlapping range and occurs in comparable habitat. They differ with respect to leaf shape, venation and colour, besides the size and colour of the figs. The Wonderboom is always a tree,[5] and has elliptic-oblong leaves with a rounded bases, that are never bright red-brown.[9] Its figs are much smaller and mature to yellow-red. The Natal fig has the base of the leaf narrowly tapered.[5]

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  • Subshrub on sunny slope
    Subshrub on sunny slope
  • Foliage
    Foliage
  • Figs
    Figs
  • Fig placement
    Fig placement

Notes

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The inhabited tree
  1. ^ Moffat relates it thus: "My attention was arrested by a beautiful and gigantic tree [a species of ficus], standing in a defile ... Seeing some individuals employed under its shade ... and houses in miniature protruding through its evergreen foliage, I proceeded thither, and found that the tree was inhabited by several families of Bakones, ... I ascended by the notched trunk, and found, to my amazement, no less than seventeen of these aerial abodes, and three others unfinished. On reaching the topmost [30 feet up], I entered, and sat down. I asked a woman who sat at the door permission to eat [a bowl full of locusts]. This she granted with pleasure, ... and soon brought me more ... Several more females came from the neighbouring roosts, stepping from branch to branch, to see the stranger, ... I then visited the different abodes, which were on several principal branches. ... A person can nearly stand upright in it: the diameter of the floor is about six feet [with] a little square space before the door." See: Moffat, Robert (1842). Missionary Labours and Scenes in Southern Africa. J. Snow. pp. 519–520: The inhabited tree.
  2. ^ In the 1960s the tree was rediscovered by Eve Palmer at Boshoek north of Rustenburg. By the 1970s though, it had begun to collapse under its own weight. cf. Swart, W. J. (1984). Die Wildevy: boom van die jaar 1984. Pretoria: Government Printer, Direktoraat van Boswese van die Departement van Omgewingsake, Pamflet 317. ISBN 0621083674.

References

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  1. ^ Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) & IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group (2019). "Ficus ingens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T146188374A146218605. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T146188374A146218605.en. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Ficus ingens (Miq.) Miq". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Ficus ingens (Miq.) Miq". African Plant Database. Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques & South African National Biodiversity Institute. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  4. ^ a b van Noort, S.; Rasplus, J. "Ficus ingens (Miquel) Miquel 1867". Figweb. isiko museums. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d e Palgrave, K. C. (1984). Trees of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik. p. 110. ISBN 0-86977-081-0.
  6. ^ a b c d Jordaan, Marie. "Ficus ingens (Miq.) Miq". PlantZAfrica.com. SANBI. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  7. ^ "Records: Ficus ingens (Miq.) Miq". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  8. ^ De Winter, B.; De Winter, M.; Killick, D. J. B. (1966). Sixty-Six Transvaal Trees. National Tree List for South Africa. pp. 24–25.
  9. ^ a b c d Palmer, Eve (1977). A Field Guide to the Trees of Southern Africa. London, Johannesburg: Collins. pp. 90–91. ISBN 0-620-05468-9.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Trees and Shrubs of the Witwatersrand. Johannesburg: Tree Society of South Africa, Witwatersrand University Press. 1974. pp. 24–25. ISBN 0-85494-236-X.
  11. ^ a b c d e Mogg, A. O. D. (1975). Important plants of Sterkfontein. Johannesburg: University of the Witwatersrand. pp. 78–79. ISBN 0-85494-426-5.
  12. ^ a b Myburgh, Jan G.; Fourie, Niel; Kellerman, T. Stephanus; Cornelius, S.T.; Ward, Caroline; Van der Lugt, Jaco J.; Verwoerd, Daniel Wynand (1994). "A nervous disorder in cattle cause by the plants Ficus ingens var. ingens and Ficus cordata subsp. salicifolia" (PDF). Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research (61): 171–176. hdl:2263/32751. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  13. ^ Freedman, Robert. "Famine Foods: Moraceae". Purdue Agriculture. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  14. ^ Lansky, E. P.; Paavilainen, H. M. (2010). Figs: The Genus Ficus, Traditional Herbal Medicines for Modern Times. Hoboken: CRC Press. p. 99. ISBN 978-1420089677.
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