{{short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}} {{featured article}} {{Speciesbox | image = FicrubAlamoana (cropped).jpg | image_caption = | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref>{{Cite iucn|title=Port Jackson Fig ''Ficus rubiginosa''|article-number=e.T73089151A192225828|last=IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group & Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).|year=2021|access-date=24 March 2022|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T73089151A192225828.en}}</ref> | genus = Ficus | species = rubiginosa | authority = Desf. ex Vent.<ref name="POWO">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:60466944-2 |title=''Ficus rubiginosa'' Desf. ex Vent. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2025 |access-date=15 June 2025}}</ref> | range_map = Ficusrubiginosargemap.png | range_map_caption = Range in Eastern Australia (in green) | synonyms_ref = {{R|POWO}} | synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets=true|title=25 synonyms |''Mastosuke rubiginosa'' {{small|(Desf. ex Vent.) Raf.}} |''Urostigma rubiginosum'' {{small|(Desf. ex Vent.) Gasp.}} |''Ficus australis'' {{small|Willd.}} |''Ficus baileyana'' {{small|Domin}} |''Ficus ferruginea'' {{small|Desf.}} |''Ficus ferruginea'' {{small|(Miq.) Miq.}} |''Ficus fulva'' {{small|Kunth & C.D.Bouché}} |''Ficus leichhardtii'' {{small|(Miq.) Miq.}} |''Ficus leichhardtii'' var. ''angustata'' {{small|Miq.}} |''Ficus macrophylla'' var. ''pubescens'' {{small|F.M.Bailey}} |''Ficus muelleri'' {{small|(Miq.) Miq.}} |''Ficus novae-walliae'' {{small|Dum.Cours.}} |''Ficus obliqua'' var. ''petiolaris'' {{small|(Benth.) Corner}} |''Ficus platypoda'' var. ''leichhardtii'' {{small|(Miq.) R.J.F.Hend.}} |''Ficus platypoda'' var. ''mollis'' {{small|Benth.}} |''Ficus platypoda'' var. ''petiolaris'' {{small|Benth.}} |''Ficus platypoda'' var. ''subacuminata'' {{small|Benth.}} |''Ficus rubiginosa'' var. ''glabrescens'' {{small|F.M.Bailey}} |''Ficus rubiginosa'' f. ''glabrescens'' {{small|(F.M.Bailey) D.J.Dixon}} |''Ficus rubiginosa'' var. ''lucida'' {{small|Maiden}} |''Ficus shirleyana'' {{small|Domin}} |''Perula rubiginosa'' {{small|Raf.}} |''Urostigma ferrugineum'' {{small|Miq.}} |''Urostigma leichhardtii'' {{small|Miq.}} |''Urostigma muelleri'' {{small|Miq.}} }} }}

'''''Ficus rubiginosa''''', the '''rusty fig''' or '''Port Jackson fig''' (''damun'' in the Dharug language), is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Ficus'' native to eastern Australia. Beginning as a seedling that grows on other plants (hemiepiphyte) or rocks (lithophyte), ''F.&nbsp;rubiginosa'' matures into a tree {{convert|30|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} high and nearly as wide with a yellow-brown buttressed trunk. The leaves are oval and glossy green and measure from {{convert|4|to(-)|19.3|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} long and {{convert|1.25|to(-)|13.2|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} wide.

The fruits are small, round, and yellow, and can ripen and turn red at any time of year, peaking in spring and summer. Like all figs, the fruit is in the form of a syconium, an inverted inflorescence with the flowers lining an internal cavity. ''F.&nbsp;rubiginosa'' is exclusively pollinated by the fig wasp species ''Pleistodontes imperialis'', which may comprise four cryptospecies. The syconia are also home to another fourteen species of wasp, some of which induce galls while others parasitise the pollinator wasps and at least two species of nematode. Many species of bird, including pigeons, parrots, and various passerines, eat the fruit. Ranging along the Australian east coast from Queensland to Bega in southern New South Wales (including the Port Jackson area, leading to its alternative name), ''F.&nbsp;rubiginosa'' grows in rainforest margins and rocky outcrops. It is used as a shade tree in parks and public spaces, and when potted is well-suited for use as an indoor plant or in bonsai.

== Taxonomy == left|thumb|''Ficus rubiginosa'' figs (syconia) and the rusty undersides of the leaves ''Ficus rubiginosa'' was described by French botanist René Louiche Desfontaines in 1804,<ref name="Ventenat 1804">{{cite book|last=Ventenat|first=E.P.|title=Jardin de la Malmaison|publisher=De l'imprimerie de Crapelet, et se trouve chez l'auteur|location=Paris, France|date=1804|volume=2|page=114|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/141244#page/220/mode/1up|language=fr}}</ref> from a type specimen whose locality is documented simply as "New Holland". In searching for the type specimen, Australian botanist Dale Dixon found one from the herbarium of Desfontaines at Florence Herbarium and one from the herbarium of Étienne Pierre Ventenat at Geneva. As Ventenat had used Desfontaines' name, Dixon selected the Florence specimen to be the type in 2001.<ref name = Dixon2001 /><!-- cites previous 3 sentences --> The specific epithet ''rubiginosa'' related to the rusty coloration of the undersides of the leaves.<ref name="Floyd09">{{cite book|last=Floyd|first=Alex G.|title=Rainforest Trees of Mainland Southeastern Australia|publisher=Terania Rainforest Publishing|location=Lismore, New South Wales|year=2009|page=233|isbn=978-0-9589436-7-3}}</ref> Indeed, ''rusty fig'' is an alternate common name; others include ''Illawarra fig'' and ''Port Jackson fig''.<ref name="Floyd09" /> It was known as ''damun'' (pron. "tam-mun") to the Eora and Darug inhabitants of the Sydney basin.<ref>{{cite book|author=Troy, Jakelin|year=1993|title=The Sydney Language|publisher=Self-published| location=Canberra|isbn=0-646-11015-2|page=61}}</ref>

In 1806, German botanist Carl Ludwig Willdenow gave it the botanical name ''Ficus australis'' in ''Species Plantarum'',<ref>{{cite book|last=Willdenow|first=Carl Ludwig|title=Species Plantarum|publisher=G.C. Nauk|location=Berlin, Germany|date=1806|edition=4|volume=4|pages=1138–39|chapter=2|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/566865}}</ref> but this is a ''nomen illegitimum'' as the species already had a validly published name.<ref name="APNI">{{cite web |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/rest/name/apni/92710 |title=''Ficus rubiginosa'' |website=Australian Plant Name Index (APNI) |publisher=Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Australian Government |access-date=15 June 2025}}</ref> Italian botanist Guglielmo Gasparrini broke up the genus ''Ficus'' in 1844, placing the species in the genus ''Urostigma'' as ''U.&nbsp;rubiginosum''.<ref>{{cite book |author=Gasparrini, Guglielmo |year=1844|title= Nova Genera, quae super Nonnullis Fici Speciebus| publisher=Francisci |location=Naples, Italy |language=la| page=7 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_w_IR5iqQGzwC|quote=Guglielmo Gasparrini urostigma. }}</ref> In 1862, Dutch botanist Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel described ''Urostigma leichhardtii'' from material collected from Cape Cleveland, Queensland, noting it had affinities to ''F. rubiginosa''.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Miquel, Friedrich Anton Wilhelm |journal=Journal de Botanique Neerlandaise |volume=1 |pages=230–43 [235] |language=fr |title=Note sur le Figuiers de la ''Nouvelle-Hollande'' |year=1862 |url=http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435019932391;view=1up;seq=249;size=150}}</ref> In 1867, he placed ''Urostigma'' as a subgenus in the reunited ''Ficus'', which resulted in the taxon becoming ''Ficus leichhardtii''. Miquel also described ''Ficus leichhardtii'' variety ''angustata'' from Whitsunday Island,<ref>{{cite journal | author=Miquel, Friedrich Anton Wilhelm |year=1867 |journal= Annales Musei Botanici Lugduno-Batavi | volume=3 | title= Annotationes de Ficus Speciebus| language=la| pages=260–84 [268] | url= https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/680905}}</ref> later classified as ''F. shirleyana'' by Czech botanist Karel Domin.<ref name=FoAla>{{Flora of Australia Online | name = ''Ficus platypoda'' variety ''angustata'' (Miq.) Corner | id = 38421}}</ref> Queensland state botanist Frederick Manson Bailey described ''Ficus macrophylla'' variety ''pubescens'' in 1911 from Queensland, Domin later renaming it ''Ficus baileyana''.<ref name=FoAb>{{Flora of Australia Online | name = ''Ficus baileyana'' Domin | id = 38405}}</ref> All these taxa were found to be indistinguishable from (and hence reclassified as) ''F.&nbsp;rubiginosa'' by Dixon in 2001.<ref name = Dixon2001 />

In a study published in 2008, Nina Rønsted and colleagues analysed the DNA sequences from the nuclear ribosomal internal and external transcribed spacers, and the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase region, in the first molecular analysis of the section ''Malvanthera''. They found ''F.&nbsp;rubiginosa'' to be most closely related to the rainforest species ''F.&nbsp;watkinsiana'' and two rock-growing (lithophytic) species of arid northern Australia (''F.&nbsp;atricha'' and ''F.&nbsp;brachypoda''). They classified these species in a new series ''Rubiginosae'' in the subsection ''Platypodeae''. Relationships are unclear and it is uncertain into which direction the group radiated (into rainforest or into arid Australia).<ref>{{cite journal| doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2008.04.005| title=Phylogeny, Biogeography, and Ecology of ''Ficus'' section ''Malvanthera'' (Moraceae) |author1=Rønsted, Nina |author2=Weiblen, George D. |author3=Savolainen, V. |author4=Cook, James M. |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=48|issue=1|pages=12–22|year=2008| pmid=18490180| bibcode=2008MolPE..48...12R }}</ref>

Joseph Maiden described variety ''lucida'' in 1902, and Bailey described variety ''glabrescens'' in 1913.<ref>{{cite book | author=Bailey, Frederick Manson | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/39928845 | page=486 | title=Comprehensive catalogue of Queensland plants, both indigenous and naturalised | year=1913 | publisher=A. J. Cumming, government printer | location=Brisbane, Queensland}}</ref> Both had diagnosed their varieties on the basis of their hairlessness. Maiden described a taxon totally devoid of hair, while Bailey described his as nearly glabrous (hairless). As Bailey's description more closely matched Dixon's findings (that these variants were only partly and not completely hairless), Dixon retained Bailey's name and reclassified it as ''Ficus rubiginosa'' forma ''glabrescens'' in 2001 as it differed only in the lack of hairs on new growth from the nominate form.<ref name = Dixon2001 /><!-- cites para -->

==Description== thumb|left|Variegated foliage of a cultivar thumb|Stem with bark and aerial roots A spreading, densely-shading tree when mature, ''F.&nbsp;rubiginosa'' may reach {{convert|30|m|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} or more in height,<ref name=morris /> although it rarely exceeds {{convert|10|m|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} in the Sydney region.<ref name=Fairley>{{cite book |author1=Fairley, Alan |author2=Moore, Philip |title=Native Plants of the Sydney District:An Identification Guide |year=2000 |edition= 2nd|publisher=Kangaroo Press |page=62|location=Kenthurst, New South Wales |isbn=0-7318-1031-7}}</ref>

The trunk is buttressed and can reach {{convert|1.5|m|abbr=on}} in diameter. The bark is yellow-brown.<ref name="Floyd09" /><!-- cites previous 2 sentences --> It can also grow as on other plants as a hemiepiphyte,<ref name = Dixon2001 /> or {{convert|1|-|5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} high lithophyte.<ref name=segar2014>{{cite journal |author1=Segar, Simon T. |author2=Dunn, Derek W. |author3=Darwell, Clive T. |author4=Cook, James M. |title=How to be a fig wasp down under: The diversity and structure of an Australian fig wasp community |journal= Acta Oecologica |volume=57 |year=2014|pages= 17–27 | doi=10.1016/j.actao.2013.03.014|bibcode=2014AcO....57...17S }}</ref>

Alternately arranged on the stems, the ovate (egg-shaped), obovate (reverse egg-shaped) or oval-shaped leaves are anywhere from {{convert|4|-|19.3|cm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|1.25|-|13.2|cm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} wide, on {{convert|7|-|8.2|cm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}}-long petioles (stalks that join the leaves to stems). They are smooth or bear tiny rusty hairs. There are 16 to 62 pairs of lateral veins that run off the midvein at an angle of 41.5–84.0°, while distinct basal veins run off the midvein at an angle of 18.5–78.9°.<ref name = Dixon2001 />

As with all figs, the fruit (fig) is actually an inverted inflorescence (compound flower) known as a syconium, with tiny flowers arising from the fig's inner surface into a hollow cavity.<ref name=Fairley /> ''F. rubiginosa'' is monoecious—both male and female flowers are found on the same plant, and in fact in the same fruit, although they mature at different times.<ref name=mcpherson05>{{Cite journal | last1 = McPherson | first1 = John R. | title = Phenology of Six ''Ficus'' L., Moraceae, Species and its Effects on Pollinator Survival, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | doi = 10.1111/j.1745-5871.2005.00329.x | journal = Geographical Research | volume = 43 | issue = 3 | pages = 297–305 | year = 2005| bibcode = 2005GeoRs..43..297M }}</ref> Often growing in pairs, the figs are yellow initially and measure {{convert|4|-|10|mm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} across.<ref name=Benson1997 /> Ripening to red in colour, they are tipped with a small nipple and on a {{convert|2|-|5|mm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} stalk.<ref name=Fairley /> Fruits ripen throughout the year, although more so in spring and summer.<ref name="Floyd09" /> Some trees have ripe and unripe fruit at the same time.<ref name=Benson1997 />

It closely resembles its relative, the Moreton Bay fig (''F. macrophylla''). Having similar ranges in the wild, they are often confused.

The smaller leaves, shorter fruit stalks, and rusty colour of the undersides of the leaves of ''F.&nbsp;rubiginosa'' are the easiest distinguishing features.<ref name=Fairley /> It is also confused with the small-leaved fig (''F.&nbsp;obliqua''), the syconia of which are smaller, measuring 4–12&nbsp;mm long and 4–11&nbsp;mm in diameter, compared with 7–17&nbsp;mm long and 8–17&nbsp;mm diameter for ''F. rubiginosa''.<ref name = Dixon2001>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1071/SB99029 | last = Dixon | first = Dale J.|author2=Jackes, Betsy R. |author3=Bielig, L.M. | year = 2001 | title = Figuring Out the Figs: the ''Ficus obliqua-Ficus rubiginosa'' Complex (Moraceae: Urostigma sect. Malvanthera) | journal = Australian Systematic Botany| volume = 14 | issue = 1 | pages = 133–54 | bibcode = 2001AuSyB..14..133D }}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat== [[File:Ficus rubiginosa at Barrenjoey.JPG|thumb|right|Lithophytic ''Ficus rubiginosa'' growing on Narrabeen sandstone at Barrenjoey, New South Wales]] ''Ficus rubiginosa''{{'}}s range spans the entire eastern coastline of Australia, from the top of the Cape York Peninsula in north Queensland to the vicinity of Bega on the south coast of New South Wales.<ref name=Fairley /> The range extends westwards to Porcupine Gorge National Park in Queensland and the far western plains in New South Wales.<ref name = Dixon2001 /> ''F.&nbsp;rubiginosa'' f. ''rubiginosa'' and ''F.&nbsp;rubiginosa'' f. ''glabrescens'' are found over most of the range, though the latter does not occur south past the New South Wales-Queensland border region. Lithophytic, hemiepiphytic, and tree forms can be found together in local populations of plants.<ref name = Dixon2001 />

''F.&nbsp;rubiginosa'' is found in rainforest,<ref name = Dixon2001 /> rainforest margins, gullies,<ref name=Fairley /> riverbank habitat, vine thickets,<ref name = Dixon2001 /> and rocky hillsides.<ref name=Fairley /> It is found on limestone outcrops in Kanangra-Boyd National Park.<ref name=DEC>{{cite web|url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/protectedareas/kowmungwra08366.pdf|title=Kowmung River, Kanangra-Boyd National Park: Wild River Assessment|last=Parks and Wildlife Division |year=2005|publisher=Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW)|access-date=23 April 2012}}</ref> Fig seedlings often grow from cracks in stone where seeds have been lodged, in locations such as cliffs and rock faces in natural environments,<ref name="Floyd09" /> or in brickwork on buildings and elsewhere in the urban environment. The soils it grows on are often well-drained and low in nutrients. They are derived from sandstone, quartzite, and basalt. In the Sydney region, ''F. rubiginosa'' grows from sea level to 1000&nbsp;m (3500&nbsp;ft) altitude, in areas with an average yearly rainfall of {{convert|600-1400|mm|in|abbr=on|sigfig=2}}.<ref name=Benson1997 /><!-- cites previous 4 sentences --> ''F.&nbsp;rubiginosa'' is largely sympatric with ''F.&nbsp;obliqua'', though its range extends further west into dryer regions than the latter species.<ref name = Dixon2001 />

Outside its native range, ''F.&nbsp;rubiginosa'' has naturalised to some degree in urban Melbourne and Adelaide in Australia, as well as New Zealand, Hawaii and California, and Mediterranean Europe.<ref name=Haine2006>{{cite journal |author1=Haine, Eleanor R. |author2=Martin, Joanne |author3=Cook, James M. |title=Deep mtDNA Divergences Indicate Cryptic Species in a Fig-pollinating Wasp |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology | volume=6 |issue=1 |year=2006 | page= 83 | doi=10.1186/1471-2148-6-83 | pmid=17040562 | pmc=1626083 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2006BMCEE...6...83H }}</ref> ''F. rubiginosa'' has been planted widely in Malta since the early 1990s but has not been observed to fruit.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Mifsud, David |author2=Falzon, Annushka |author3=Malumphy, Chris |author4=De Lillo, Enrico |author5=Vovlas, Nicola |author6=Porcelli, Francesco |title=On Some Arthropods Associated with ''Ficus'' Species (Moraceae) in the Maltese Islands|journal=Bulletin of the Entomological Society of Malta |volume=5 |year=2012 |pages= 5–34 |url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/resources/research-curation/projects/chalcidoids/pdf_X/MifsudFaMa2012.pdf}}</ref>

==Ecology== The fruit is consumed by many bird species including the rose-crowned fruit dove (''Ptilinopus regina''), wompoo fruit dove (''P. magnificus''), wonga pigeon (''Leucosarcia melanoleuca''), topknot pigeon (''Lopholaimus antarcticus''), Pacific koel (''Eudynamys orientalis''),<ref name="Floyd09" /> Australasian swamphen (''Porphyrio melanotus''),<ref name="Barker 1984">{{cite book |author1=Barker, Robin Dale |author2=Vestjens, Wilhelmus Jacobus Maria | year = 1984 | title = The Food of Australian Birds: (I) Non-passerines | publisher = Melbourne University Press |location=Carlton, Victoria | isbn = 0-643-05007-8 | page = 207 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fh0RYPeTOz8C&pg=PA207}}</ref> Australian king parrot (''Alisterus scapularis''),<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.hornsby.nsw.gov.au/media/documents/environment-and-waste/bushland-and-biodiversity/native-tree-database-fact-sheets/Fact-sheet-Ficus-rubiginosa-Port-Jackson-Fig.pdf | title=Ficus rubiginosa – Port Jackson Fig | work=Bushland and Biodiversity | author=Hornsby Shire Council | access-date=1 May 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319104608/http://www.hornsby.nsw.gov.au/media/documents/environment-and-waste/bushland-and-biodiversity/native-tree-database-fact-sheets/Fact-sheet-Ficus-rubiginosa-Port-Jackson-Fig.pdf | archive-date=19 March 2016 }}</ref> Australasian figbird (''Sphecotheres vieilloti''), green catbird (''Ailuroedus crassirostris''), regent bowerbird (''Sericulus chrysocephalus''), satin bowerbird (''Ptilonorhynchus violaceus'') and pied currawong (''Strepera graculina''),<ref name="Floyd09" /> as well as the mammalian grey-headed flying fox (''Pteropus poliocephalus''),<ref name=Benson1997>{{cite journal|author1=Benson, Doug|author2=McDougall, Lyn|year=1997|title=Ecology of Sydney Plant Species Part 5: Dicotyledon Families Flacourtiaceae to Myrsinaceae|journal=Cunninghamia|volume=5|issue=2|pages=330–544 [525]|url=https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/RoyalBotanicGarden/media/RBG/Science/Cunninghamia/Volume%205%20-%201997/Volume-5%282%29-1997-Cun5Ben330-544.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223140112/https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/RoyalBotanicGarden/media/RBG/Science/Cunninghamia/Volume%205%20-%201997/Volume-5(2)-1997-Cun5Ben330-544.pdf|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref> and spectacled flying fox (''Pteropus conspicillatus'').<ref>{{cite journal|title=Dietary Variation in Spectacled Flying Foxes (''Pteropus conspicillatus'') of the Australian Wet Tropics|author1=Parsons, Jennifer G. |author2=Cairns, Andi |author3=Johnson, Christopher N. |journal=Australian Journal of Zoology|volume= 54|issue=6|pages= 417–28|year=2006|doi=10.1071/ZO06092|url=https://jamescook.academia.edu/JenniferParsons/Papers/136738/Dietary-variation-in-spectacled-flying-foxes--Pteropus-conspicillatus--of-the-Australian-Wet-Tropics}}</ref> It is one of several plant species used as food by the endangered Coxen's fig parrot.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/animals-az/doubleeyed_figparrot_coxens.html | title=Double-eyed fig-parrot (Coxen's) | date=24 May 2011 | access-date=1 May 2016 | author=Department of Environment and Heritage Protection | publisher=Queensland Government | archive-date=22 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322235741/http://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/animals-az/doubleeyed_figparrot_coxens.html }}</ref> Many fruits drop onto the ground around the tree, though others are dispersed by animals that eat them.<ref name=Benson1997 />

The thrips species ''Gynaikothrips australis'' feeds on the underside of new leaves of ''F. rubiginosa'', as well as ''F. obliqua'' and ''F. macrophylla''. As plant cells die, nearby cells are induced into forming meristem tissue, and a gall results and the leaves become distorted and curl over. The thrips begin feeding when the tree has flushes of new growth, and live for around six weeks. At other times, thrips reside on old leaves without feeding. The species pupates sheltered in the bark. The thrips remain in the galls at night, wander about in the daytime and return in the evening, possibly to different galls about the tree.<ref name="tree09">{{cite journal|title=Diversity of Host Plant Relationships and Leaf Galling Behaviours within a Small Genus of Thrips –''Gynaikothrips'' and ''Ficus'' in South East Queensland, Australia|author1=Tree, Desley J |author2=Walter, G. H. |journal=Australian Journal of Entomology |volume=48| issue=4 | pages=269–75|year=2009|doi=10.1111/j.1440-6055.2009.00706.x}}</ref> Psyllids have almost defoliated trees in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney in spring.<ref name=Benson1997 />

''P. imperialis'' crossed the waters between Australia and New Zealand some time between 1960 and 1972, and seedlings of the previously infertile trees of ''F. rubiginosa'' began appearing in brick and stone walls, and on other trees, particularly in parks and gardens around Auckland. They have been recorded as far south as Napier.<ref name=ROG>{{cite journal|author1=Gardner, Rhys O. |author2=Early, John W. |title=The Naturalisation of Banyan Figs (''Ficus'' spp., Moraceae) and their Pollinating Wasps (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae) in New Zealand |journal=New Zealand Journal of Botany |year=1996 |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=103–10 |url=http://www.rsnz.org/publish/nzjb/1996/115.php |access-date=26 July 2010 |doi=10.1080/0028825x.1996.10412697 |bibcode=1996NZJB...34..103G |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719032605/http://www.rsnz.org/publish/nzjb/1996/115.php |archive-date=19 July 2008|url-access=subscription }}</ref> ''P. imperialis'' has been transported to Hawaii, California, and Israel, where it has been observed to pollinate its host.<ref name = Vaamonde2002>{{cite journal | last = Lopez-Vaamonde | first = Carlos | author2 = Dixon, Dale J.| author3 = Cook, James M.| author4 = Rasplus, Jean-Yves | year = 2002 | title = Revision of the Australian species of ''Pleistodontes'' (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae) Fig-pollinating Wasps and their Host-plant Associations | journal = Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society | volume = 136 | issue = 4 | pages = 637–83 | doi = 10.1046/j.1096-3642.2002.00040.x | doi-access = free }}</ref>

They can live to 100 years or more and have been known to resprout after bushfire, bearing fruit within three years.<ref name=Benson1997 />

===Other life in the syconia=== As with many other ''Ficus'' species, the community of wasps inside the figs of ''F. rubiginosa'' is made up mostly of pollinator wasps.<ref name=segar2014 /> These develop deep inside the syconium, presumably protected there from parasites.<ref name=dunn08 /> Also present are much smaller numbers of other wasp species, which do not pollinate the fig. At least fourteen species have been recorded,{{efn|1=These are two species each of the genera ''Sycoscapter'', ''Philotrypesis'' and ''Watshamiella'' of the subfamily Sycoryctinae, one species each of the genera ''Eukoebelea'' and ''Pseudidarnes'' in the subfamily Sycophaginae, one species each of the genera ''Herodotia'' and ''Meselatus'' in the subfamily Epichrysomallinae, all of the family Agaonidae, two species of the genus ''Sycophila'' of the family Eurytomidae, one species of ''Megastigmus'' of the family Torymidae and a species of the genus ''Ormyrus'' of the family Ormyridae.<ref name=segar2014 />}} of which four—two each belonging to the genera ''Sycoscapter'' and ''Philotrypesis''—are common while others are rare.<ref name=segar2014 /> Investigation of ''F. rubiginosa'' syconia found that the fig seeds and parasitic wasps develop closer to the wall of the syconium. The wasps of the genera ''Sycoscapter'' and ''Philotrypesis'' are parasitic and are around the same size as the pollinator species.<ref name=dunn08>{{cite journal |author1=Dunn, Derek W. |author2=Segar, Simon T. |author3=Ridley, Jo |author4=Chan, Ruth |author5=Crozier, Ross H. |author6=Douglas, W. Yu |author7=Cook, James M. | title=A Role for Parasites in Stabilising the Fig-pollinator Mutualism |journal= PLOS Biology |volume= 6|issue= 3 |year=2008 |article-number= e59 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0060059 |pmid=18336072 |pmc=2265770 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Their larvae are thought to feed on the larvae of the pollinator wasp.<ref name=segar2014 /> Male ''Sycoscapter'' and ''Philotrypesis'' wasps fight other males of the same species when they encounter each other in a ''F. rubiginosa'' fig.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Moore, Jamie C. |author2=Obbard, Darren J. |author3=Reuter, Caroline |author4=West, Stuart A. |author5=Cook, James M. |title=Fighting strategies in two species of fig wasp |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=76 |issue=2 |year=2008 |pages=315–22 |url=http://www.zoo.ox.ac.uk/group/west/pdf/Moore_etal_08.pdf |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.01.018 |s2cid=54429047 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221061322/http://www.zoo.ox.ac.uk/group/west/pdf/Moore_etal_08.pdf |archive-date=21 February 2015 }}</ref> Several genera of uncommon larger wasp species enter the immature figs before other wasps and induce galls, which may impact on numbers of pollinator wasps in the fig later. An example of this is ''Pseudidarnes minerva'',<ref name=segar2014 /> a metallic green wasp species.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Farache, Fernando |author2=Antoniolli, Henrique |author3=Rasplus, Jean-Yves |title=Revision of the Australasian genus ''Pseudidarnes'' Girault, 1927 (Hymenoptera, Agaonidae, Sycophaginae)| journal= ZooKeys |issue=404 |year=2014 |pages= 31–70 |pmc=4023259 |doi=10.3897/zookeys.404.7204 |pmid=24843270|doi-access=free |bibcode=2014ZooK..404...31F }}</ref>

Nematodes of the genus ''Schistonchus'' are found in the syconia (and the pollinator wasps) of many species of fig, with ''F. rubiginosa'' hosting two species. They appear to be less species-specific than wasps. ''S. altermacrophylla'' is generally associated with ''F. rubiginosa'' though it has been recorded on several other fig species.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Davies, Kerrie |author2=Faerlie Bartholomaeus |author3=Weimin Ye |author4=Natsumi Kanzaki |author5=Robin Giblin-Davis|date=2010|title=''Schistonchus'' (Aphelenchoididae) from ''Ficus'' (Moraceae) in Australia, with description of ''S. aculeata'' sp. n.|journal=Nematology|volume=12|issue=6|pages=935–58|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233576705 | doi=10.1163/138855410X498932|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Cultivation== [[File:Pjfigbonsai.jpg|thumb|right|As bonsai, Auburn Botanic Gardens]] ''Ficus rubiginosa'' was first cultivated in the United Kingdom in 1789, where it is grown in glasshouses.<ref name=EJ15 /> It is commonly used as a large ornamental tree in eastern Australia, in the North Island of New Zealand,<ref name=ROG /> and also in Hawaii and California, where it is also listed as an invasive species in some areas.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=805&fr=1&sts=&lang=EN | title=Ficus rubiginosa | date=12 December 2005 | work=Global Invasive Species Database | author=Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) | publisher=IUCN Species Survival Commission | access-date=3 April 2016 | archive-date=28 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328024959/http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=805&fr=1&sts=&lang=EN }}</ref> It is useful as a shade tree in public parks and on golf courses.<ref name=Hallstreet>{{cite book |title=A Field Guide to Australian Trees |last=Halliday |first=Ivan |year=1989 |publisher=Hamlyn Australia |location=Melbourne, Victoria |isbn=0-947334-08-4 |page=200}}</ref> Not as prodigious as other figs, ''F. rubiginosa'' is suited to slightly more confined areas, such as lining car parks or suburban streets. However, surface roots can be large and intrusive and the thin bark readily damaged when struck. Tolerant of acid or alkaline soils, it is hardy to US Hardiness Zones 10B and 11, reaching {{convert|10|m|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} high in 30 years. Planting trees {{convert|8|-|12|m|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} apart will eventually result in a continuous canopy.<ref>{{cite book | title= Trees for Urban and Suburban Landscapes | author=Gilman, Edward F. | page=277 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ldjIp0WBnw0C&pg=PA277 | publisher=Delmar Publishers | year= 1997 | isbn= 0-8273-7053-9 | location=Albany, New York}}</ref><!-- cites previous 4 sentences --> The trees are of great value in providing fruit for birds and mammals, though drop large quantities of fruit and leaves, leaving a mess underfoot.<ref name=EJ15>{{cite book|author1=Elliot, Rodger W. |author2=Jones, David L. |author3=Blake, Trevor |title=Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation: Volume 4 (Eu-Go)|year=1986|pages=280, 290–91 |publisher=Lothian Press |location=Port Melbourne, Victoria |isbn=0-85091-589-9}}</ref>

In a brief description, William Guilfoyle recorded a variegated fig from New South Wales "12–15&nbsp;ft high" in 1911 as ''F. rubiginosa'' variety ''variegata''.<ref>{{cite book | author=Guilfoyle, William R. | year=1911 |title= Australian Plants suitable for gardens, parks, timber reserves, etc | url=https://archive.org/details/australianplant00guil | page=[https://archive.org/details/australianplant00guil/page/178 178] |publisher=Whitcombe and Tombs Limited | location=Christchurch, New Zealand}}</ref> A variegated form is in cultivation on Australia's east coast,<ref name=beardsell04 /> and in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hort.ufl.edu/database/documents/pdf/tree_fact_sheets/ficrubb.pdf|title=Ficus rubiginosa 'Variegata' |author1=Gilman, Edward F. |author2=Watson, Dennis G. |date=November 1993|publisher=Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture|access-date=11 February 2016}}</ref> It is a chimera lacking in chlorophyll in the second layer of the leaf meristem.<ref name=beardsell04 /> The leaves have an irregular central green patch along the midvein with irregular yellow and green elsewhere.<ref name=EJ15 /> Leaves that grow in winter generally have larger green patches than those that do in summer. The chimera is unstable, and branches of all-green growth appear sporadically.<ref name=beardsell04>{{cite journal |author1=Beardsell, David |author2=Norden, Ulla | title=''Ficus rubiginosa'' 'Variegata', a Chlorophyll-deficient Chimera with Mosaic Patterns Created by Cell Divisions from the Outer Meristematic Layer | journal= Annals of Botany | year=2004 |volume= 94|issue=1|pages= 51–58 | doi= 10.1093/aob/mch114 | pmid=15145795 | pmc=4242370}}</ref><!-- cites previous three sentences -->

Despite the relatively large size of the leaves, it is popular for bonsai work as it is highly forgiving to work with and hard to kill; the leaves reduce readily by leaf-pruning in early summer. Described as the best tree for a beginner to work with, it is one of the most frequently used native species in Australia.<ref name="Hnat11">{{cite journal | last = McCrone| first = Mark | year = 2006 | title = Growing Port Jackson Fig as Bonsai in a Warm Temperate Climate | journal = ASGAP Australian Plants as Bonsai Study Group Newsletter | issue = 11 | pages = 3–4}}</ref> Its bark remains smooth, and does not attain a rugged, aged appearance. Known as "Little Ruby",<ref>{{cite book | author=Kwong, Hoy Leong | title= Ficus Bonsai in the Temperate Climate | year= 2007 | isbn=978-0-646-47970-5 | publisher=Bonsai South Nursery |location=Caringbah, New South Wales| page=180}}</ref> a narrow-leaved form with its origins somewhere north of Sydney is also seen in cultivation.<ref>{{cite book |title=Rainforest to Bonsai |last=Webber |first=Len |year=1991 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |location=East Roseville, New South Wales |isbn=0-7318-0237-3 |page=114}}</ref>

''F. rubiginosa'' is also suited for use as a houseplant in low, medium or brightly lit spaces, although a variegated form requires brighter light.<ref>{{cite book |title=Australian Native Plants for Indoors |last=Ratcliffe |first=David & Patricia|year=1987 |publisher=Little Hills Press |location=Crows Nest, New South Wales |isbn=0-949773-49-2 |page= 90}}</ref> It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector – ''Ficus rubiginosa'' |author=Royal Horticultural Society |date=2015 |url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/32860/Ficus-rubiginosa/Details |access-date=2 July 2020}}</ref> It is easily propagated by cuttings or aerial layering.<ref name="Floyd09" />

The light-coloured wood is soft and brittle. Lightweight, it has some value in the making of such items as toys and small boxes.<ref name=morris>{{cite book | author=Lake, Morris | title= Australian Rainforest Woods: Characteristics, Uses and Identification | page=84 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_pymCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA84 |year=2015 | publisher=CSIRO Publishing | location=Collingwood, Victoria | isbn=978-1-4863-0180-5}}</ref>

==See also== *''Ficus macrophylla''

==Notes== {{Notelist}}

==References == {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{Commons category-inline|Ficus rubiginosa|''Ficus rubiginosa''}} *Jared Bernard ''et&nbsp;al.'': [https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2020.564653/full New Species Assemblages Disrupt Obligatory Mutualisms Between Figs and Their Pollinators]. In: Front. Ecol. Evol., 19 November 2020. doi:10.3389/fevo.2020.564653. See also: :*Jared Bernard: [https://theconversation.com/figs-show-that-nonnative-species-can-invade-ecosystems-by-forming-unexpected-partnerships-151655 Figs show that nonnative species can invade ecosystems by forming unexpected partnerships]. On: The Conversation. 19 January 2021. Also on [https://www.sciencealert.com/non-native-figs-survive-in-hawaii-thanks-to-unusual-wasp-partnerships Science<sup>alert</sup>]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2740464}}

Rubiginosa Category:Rosales of Australia Category:Trees of Australia Category:Flora of New South Wales Category:Flora of Queensland Rubiginosa Category:Plants used in bonsai Category:Garden plants of Australia Category:Ornamental trees Category:Lithophytes Category:Least concern flora of Australia Category:Taxa named by Étienne Pierre Ventenat