Ficus

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the mulberry family Moraceae}} {{About||the species commonly known as the "ficus tree"|Ficus benjamina|sea snails|Ficus (gastropod)|Monroe Ficus|Too Close for Comfort}} {{redirect|Fig tree|the 2009 film|Fig Trees}} {{Automatic taxobox |name = Fig trees |fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Maastrichtian|Present}} |image = Sycomoros old.jpg |image_caption = Sycamore fig, ''Ficus sycomorus'' |parent_authority = Dumort. |taxon = Ficus (plant) |authority = L.{{R|powo}} |subdivision_ranks = Species |subdivision = About 800, see List of ''Ficus'' species |type_species = Ficus carica |type_species_authority = L.<ref name="IPNI">{{cite web |url=https://www.ipni.org/n/327905-2 |title=''Ficus'' L., Sp. Pl. 2: 1059 (1753) |website=International Plant Names Index (IPNI) |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2025 |access-date=10 June 2025}}</ref> |synonyms = {{species list|header=28 Synonyms|hidden=yes |Boscheria|Carruth. |Bosscheria|de Vriese & Teijsm. |Caprificus|Gasp. |Covellia|Gasp. |Cystogyne|Gasp. |Dammaropsis|Warb. |Erosma|Booth |Erythrogyne|Vis. |Galoglychia|Gasp. |Gonosuke|Raf. |Macrophthalma|Gasp. |Mastosuke|Raf. |Necalistis|Raf. |Oluntos|Raf. |Perula|Raf. |Pharmacosycea|Miq. |Plagiostigma|Zucc. |Pogonotrophe|Miq. |Rephesis|Raf. |Stilpnophyllum|(Endl.) Drury |Sycomorphe|Miq. |Sycomorus|Gasp. |Synoecia|Miq. |Tenorea|Gasp. |Tremotis|Raf. |Urostigma|Gasp. |Varinga|Raf. |Visiania|Gasp. }} |synonyms_ref = <ref name = powo/> }}

'''''Ficus''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|aɪ|k|ə|s}}<ref>{{cite Merriam-Webster|ficus |access-date=2023-06-18}}</ref> or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|iː|k|ə|s}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Sunset Western Garden Book |year=1995 |pages=606–607 |publisher=Sunset Books |isbn=978-0-37603-851-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite Collins Dictionary|ficus}}</ref>) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as '''fig trees''' or '''figs''', they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. Many ''Ficus'' species are grown for their fruits, though only two species, the common fig (''F. carica'') and sycamore fig (''F. sycomorus''), are cultivated to any extent, with common fig being the type species and by far the most important.{{Sfn|Falistocco|2024|pp=265-266}} The fruit of most other species are also edible though they are usually of only local economic importance or eaten as bushfood. However, they are extremely important food resources for wildlife. Figs are also of considerable cultural importance throughout the tropics, both as objects of worship and for their many practical uses.

''Ficus'' is a pantropical genus of trees, shrubs, and vines occupying a wide variety of ecological niches; most are evergreen, but some deciduous species grow outside the tropics or at higher elevations.<ref name=Halevy1989>{{Cite book |title=Handbook of Flowering Volume 6 of CRC Handbook of Flowering |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZcTP7Kb01NAC&pg=PA331 |year=1989 |author=Halevy, Abraham H. |publisher=CRC Press |page=331 |isbn=978-0-8493-3916-5 |access-date=2009-08-25}}</ref> Individual species vary greatly. For example, the Indian banyan (''F. benghalensis''), with its extensive adventitious roots, can cover over a hectare (2.5 acres), while ''F. nana'' of New Guinea never exceeds one meter (forty inches) in height and width.<ref>{{cite journal | last= <not recorded> | date= 2005 | title= Moraceae - Ficus | journal= Flora Malesiana | volume= 17 | issue= part 2 | page= 436 }}</ref>

Fig species are characterized by their unique syconium, an urn-shaped inflorescence that encloses numerous tiny flowers. These flowers develop into multiple ovaries on the inner surface, so the fig “fruit” is essentially a fleshy stem containing many small, coalescing flowers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://waynesword.palomar.edu/fruitid6.htm#figs |title=Ficus: The Remarkable Genus Of Figs |access-date=2021-05-16 |archive-date=2009-12-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091211212639/http://waynesword.palomar.edu/fruitid6.htm#figs |url-status=dead}}</ref> Pollination is highly specialized, relying on wasps of the family ''Agaonidae''.{{Sfn|Falistocco|2024|p=271}}

Specific identification of many of the species can be difficult, but members of the genus ''Ficus'' are relatively easy to recognize. Many have aerial roots, that can be {{cvt|50|m}} in length,<ref>{{cite book | last= Forsyth | first= Adrian | date= 1990 | title= Portrait of the Rainforest | location= Camden East | publisher= Camden House, Ontario | page= 19 }}</ref> a distinctive shape or habit, and distinguishable fruits. Notably, three vegetative traits together are unique to figs: a white to yellowish latex (sometimes abundant), paired stipules or stipular scars on the twigs, and "triveined" leaves, in which the lateral veins at the leaf base form a tighter angle with the midrib.

Some better-known species that represent the diversity of the genus include, alongside the common fig, whose fingered fig leaf is well known in art and iconography: the weeping fig (''F. benjamina''), a hemiepiphyte with thin, tough leaves on pendulous stalks adapted to its rain forest habitat; the rough-leaved sandpaper figs from Australia; and the creeping fig (''F. pumila''), a vine whose small, hard leaves form a dense carpet of foliage over rocks or garden walls.

==Reproductive biology== The syconium of ''Ficus'' species is the structure that develops into the fig "fruit", a type of multiple fruit, if pollinated. It is a hollow, fleshy receptacle containing tiny flowers on its inner surface, accessible only through a small opening at the apex called the ostiole lined by bracts.{{Sfn|Sarkhosh|Yavari|Ferguson|2022|pp=22, 231}}{{Sfn|Falistocco|2024|p=271}} Inside the syconium, numerous tiny unisexual flowers line the inner wall.{{Sfn|Sarkhosh|Yavari|Ferguson|2022|p=22}} Male (staminate) flowers are usually positioned near the ostiole, while female (pistillate) flowers occupy the interior surface.{{Sfn|Sarkhosh|Yavari|Ferguson|2022|p=22}} In some cases, however, male flowers may be scattered among the female flowers.{{Sfn|Sarkhosh|Yavari|Ferguson|2022|p=23}} Pollination occurs when pollen is carried through the ostiole and deposited onto the receptive stigmas of the female flowers. This process naturally occurs when very small wasps such as ''Pegoscapus'' that crawl through the opening in search of a suitable place to lay eggs.{{Sfn|Sarkhosh|Yavari|Ferguson|2022|pp=24, 231}}

Once a pollen grain lands on the stigma, it germinates and produces a pollen tube that grows down through the style to reach the ovule.{{Sfn|Sarkhosh|Yavari|Ferguson|2022|page=24}} After fertilization, each fertilized ovule develops into a small, one-seeded fruitlet.{{Sfn|Sarkhosh|Yavari|Ferguson|2022|p=369}} Because many female flowers are present, one fig may contain hundreds or even thousands of fruitlets.{{Sfn|Sarkhosh|Yavari|Ferguson|2022|page=369}} As they develop, the surrounding receptacles enlarge and become fleshy, forming the fig "fruit". The seeds formed through sexual reproduction are later dispersed by animals that consume the fruit.{{Sfn|Falistocco|2024|p=274}}

In addition to sexual reproduction, figs can also reproduce vegetatively.{{Sfn|Sarkhosh|Yavari|Ferguson|2022|page=31}} Particulary in cultivation, vegetative propagation methods such as cuttings, layering, grafting are used to preserve desirable traits and ensure uniformity.{{Sfn|Sarkhosh|Yavari|Ferguson|2022|page=146}} This is especially important in varieties that produce seedless fruits due to a parthenocarpic mutation, where the syconium develops without fertilization. Because these fruits lack viable seeds, propagation must be carried out vegetatively.{{Sfn|Sarkhosh|Yavari|Ferguson|2022|page=31}}

=== Sexual system === {{Further |Plant reproduction }}

''Ficus'' species are classified as either monoecious or gynodioecious.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://waynesword.palomar.edu/dawkins.htm |last1=Armstrong |first1=Wayne P |first2=Steven |last2=Disparti |title=A Key to Subgroups of Dioecious* (Gynodioecious) Figs Based On Fig Wasp/Male Syconium Pollination Patterns |website=Wayne's Word |date=4 April 1998 |access-date=2012-01-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202215506/http://waynesword.palomar.edu/dawkins.htm |archive-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> In monoecious species, male and female flowers occur together in the same syconium, allowing a single plant to reproduce. In gynodioecious species, however, the sexes are separated on different trees. Male trees bear syconia containing male (staminate) flowers and short-styled female (pistillate) flowers, while female trees only have long-styled female flowers.{{Sfn|Falistocco|2024|p=271}} The long-styled flowers tend to prevent wasps from laying their eggs within the ovules, while the short-styled flowers are accessible for egg laying.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Sex Differences and Flowering Phenology in the Common Fig, Ficus carica L. |last1=Valdeyron |first1=Georges |last2=Lloyd |first2=David G. |jstor=2407790 |journal=Evolution |volume=33 |issue=2 |date=June 1979 |pages=673–685 |doi=10.2307/2407790 |pmid=28563939}}</ref>

==Ecology== Figs are keystone species in many tropical forest ecosystems. Their fruit are a key resource for frugivores including fruit bats, capuchin monkeys, langurs, gibbons, and mangabeys. They are even more important for birds such as Asian barbets, pigeons, hornbills, fig-parrots, and bulbuls, which may subsist almost entirely on figs when these are plentiful. Many Lepidoptera caterpillars feed on fig leaves, for example several ''Euploea'' species (crow butterflies), the plain tiger (''Danaus chrysippus''), the giant swallowtail (''Papilio cresphontes''), the brown awl (''Badamia exclamationis''), and ''Chrysodeixis eriosoma'', Choreutidae and Copromorphidae moths. The larvae of the citrus long-horned beetle (''Anoplophora chinensis''), for example, feed on the wood of the fig tree; the species can become a pest in fig plantations. Similarly, the sweet potato whitefly (''Bemisia tabaci'') is frequently found as a pest on figs grown as potted plants and can be spread through the export of these plants to other localities.

===Mutualism with the pollinating fig wasps=== {{Further|Reproductive coevolution in Ficus}} [[File:Ficus exasperata by kadavoor.jpg|thumb|upright|''Ficus exasperata'', fruits]]

The unique fig pollination system involves tiny, highly specific wasps, known as fig wasps, that enter via ostiole these subclosed inflorescences to both pollinate and lay their own eggs.{{sfnp|Rønsted ''et al.''|2005}} Each species of fig is pollinated by one or a few specialised wasp species, and therefore plantings of fig species outside of their native range results in effectively sterile individuals. For example, in Hawaii, some 60 species of figs have been introduced, but only four of the wasps that fertilize them, so only those species of figs produce viable seeds there and can become invasive species. This is an example of mutualism, in which each organism (fig plant and fig wasp) benefit each other, in this case reproductively.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fig Wasps |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/fig_wasp.shtml |access-date=2025-07-02 |website=www.fs.usda.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The story of the fig and its wasp – Ecotone {{!}} News and Views on Ecological Science |url=https://esa.org/esablog/2011/05/20/the-story-of-the-fig-and-its-wasp/ |access-date=2025-07-03 |website=esa.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

The intimate association between fig species and their wasp pollinators, along with the high incidence of a one-to-one plant-pollinator ratio have long led scientists to believe that figs and wasps are a clear example of coevolution. Morphological and reproductive behavior evidence, such as the correspondence between fig and wasp larvae maturation rates, have been cited as support for this hypothesis for many years.<ref name="Machado Jousselin Kjellberg Compton pp. 685–694">{{cite journal |last1=Machado |first1=C. A. |last2=Jousselin |first2=E. |last3=Kjellberg |first3=F. |last4=Compton |first4=S. G. |last5=Herre |first5=E. A. |title=Phylogenetic relationships, historical biogeography and character evolution of fig-pollinating wasps |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=268 |issue=1468 |date=7 April 2001 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2000.1418 |pmid=11321056 |pmc=1088657 |pages=685–694}}</ref> Additionally, recent genetic and molecular dating analyses have shown a very close correspondence in the character evolution and speciation phylogenies of these two clades.{{sfnp|Rønsted ''et al.''|2005}}

According to meta-analysis of molecular data for 119 fig species 35% (41) have multiple pollinator wasp species. The real proportion is higher because not all wasp species were detected.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yang |first1=Li-Yuan |last2=Machado |first2=Carlos A. |last3=Dang |first3=Xiao-Dong |last4=Peng |first4=Yan-Qiong |last5=Yang |first5=Da-Rong |last6=Zhang |first6=Da-Yong |last7=Liao |first7=Wan-Jin |title=The incidence and pattern of copollinator diversification in dioecious and monoecious figs |journal=Evolution |date=February 2015 |volume=69 |issue=2 |pages=294–304 |doi=10.1111/evo.12584 |pmid=25495152 |pmc=4328460 |bibcode=2015Evolu..69..294Y }}</ref> On the other hand, species of wasps pollinate multiple host fig species.<ref name="Machado Robbins Gilbert Herre pp. 6558–6565">{{cite journal |last1=Machado |first1=C. A. |last2=Robbins |first2=N. |last3=Gilbert |first3=M. T. P. |last4=Herre |first4=E. A. |title=Critical review of host specificity and its coevolutionary implications in the fig/fig-wasp mutualism |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=102 |issue=Supplement 1 |date=3 May 2005 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0501840102 |pmid=15851680 |pmc=1131861 |pages=6558–6565 |bibcode=2005PNAS..102.6558M |doi-access=free}}</ref> Molecular techniques, like microsatellite markers and mitochondrial sequence analysis, allowed a discovery of multiple genetically distinct, cryptic wasp species. Not all these cryptic species are sister taxa and thus must have experienced a host fig shift at some point.<ref name="Molbo et al. 2003">{{cite journal |last1=Molbo |first1=D. |last2=Machado |first2=C.A. |last3=Sevenster |first3=J.G. |last4=Keller |first4=L. |last5=Herre |first5=E.A. |title=Cryptic species of fig-pollinating wasps: Implications for the evolution of the fig-wasp mutualism, sex allocation, and precision of adaptation |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=24 April 2003 |volume=100 |issue=10 |pages=5867–5872 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0930903100 |pmid=12714682 |pmc=156293 |bibcode=2003PNAS..100.5867M |doi-access=free}}</ref> These cryptic species lacked evidence of genetic introgression or backcrosses indicating limited fitness for hybrids and effective reproductive isolation and speciation.<ref name="Molbo et al. 2003"/>

The existence of cryptic species suggests that neither the number of symbionts nor their evolutionary relationships are necessarily fixed ecologically.<ref name="Molbo et al. 2003"/> While the morphological characteristics that facilitate the fig-wasp mutualisms are likely to be shared more fully in closer relatives, the absence of unique pairings would make it impossible to do a one-to-one tree comparison and difficult to determine cospeciation.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

===Calcium-oxalate fixation=== Several species of ''Ficus'' have been observed to sequester atmospheric CO2 as calcium oxalate in the presence of oxalotrophic bacteria and fungi, which catabolize the oxalate, to produce calcium carbonate. The calcium carbonate is precipitated throughout the tree, which also increases the alkalinity of the surrounding soil. This process was first observed in the ''Iroko'' tree, which can sequester up to a ton of calcium carbonate in the soil over its lifespan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=From air to stone: The fig trees fighting climate change |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250706225819.htm |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=ScienceDaily |language=en}}</ref> These species are current candidates for carbon sequestration agroforestry.

==Systematics== With over 800 species, ''Ficus'' is the largest genus in the flowering plant family Moraceae.<ref name = "Judd">{{cite book |last1=Judd |first1=W.S. |last2=Campbell |first2=C.S. |last3=Kellogg |first3=E.A. |last4=Stevens |first4=P.F. |last5=Donoghue |first5=M.J. |year=2008 |title=Plant Systematics: A phylogenetic approach |edition=3rd |location=Sunderland (Massachusetts) |publisher=Sinauer Associates |isbn=978-0-87893-407-2}}</ref>{{rp|375}} The first subdivision of ''Ficus'' based on leaf morphology was proposed by Carl Peter Thunberg in 1786.{{Sfn|Falistocco|2024|p=264}} In 1844, Guglielmo Gasparrini proposed to divide the species now included in ''Ficus'' into several separate genera, providing the basis for a subgeneric classification when Friedrich Miquel reunited these groups into one genus in 1867.{{Sfn|Falistocco|2024|p=264}} Miquel's classification put functionally dioecious species into four subgenera based on floral characters.<ref name ="Weiblen" /> In 1965, E. J. H. Corner reorganized the genus on the basis of breeding system, uniting these four dioecious subgenera into a single dioecious subgenus ''Ficus''. Monoecious figs were classified within the subgenera ''Urostigma'', ''Pharmacosycea'' and ''Sycomorus''.<ref name="Corner-1965">{{Cite journal |last1=Corner |first1=E.J.H. |author-link1=E. J. H. Corner |year=1965 |title=Check-list of ''Ficus'' in Asia and Australasia with keys to identification |journal=The Gardens' Bulletin Singapore |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=1–186 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/43581709 |via=biodiversitylibrary.org |access-date=5 Feb 2014}}</ref> The revised classification proposed by Cornelis Berg and Corner (2005) recognized six subgenera: Pharmacosycea, Urostigma, Ficus, Sycidium, Synoecia and Sycomorus.{{Sfn|Falistocco|2024|p=264}}

This traditional classification has been called into question by recent phylogenetic studies employing genetic methods to investigate the relationships between representative members of the various sections of each subgenus.{{sfnp|Rønsted ''et al.''|2005}}<ref name="Weiblen">{{cite journal |last=Weiblen |first=G.D. |year=2000 |title=Phylogenetic relationships of functionally dioecious ''Ficus'' (Moraceae) based on ribosomal DNA sequences and morphology |url=https://geo.cbs.umn.edu/Weiblen2000.pdf |journal=American Journal of Botany |volume=87 |issue=9 |pages=1342–1357 |access-date=2018-04-22 |doi=10.2307/2656726 |jstor=2656726 |pmid=10991904 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Herre">{{cite journal |last1=Herre |first1=E. |last2=Machado |first2=C.A. |last3=Bermingham |first3=E. |last4=Nason |first4=J.D. |last5=Windsor |first5=D.M. |last6=McCafferty |first6=S. |last7=Van Houten |first7=W. |last8=Bachmann |first8=K. |year=1996 |title=Molecular phylogenies of figs and their pollinator wasps |journal=Journal of Biogeography |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=521–530 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2699.1996.tb00014.x|bibcode=1996JBiog..23..521H }}</ref><ref name="Jousselin">{{cite journal |last1=Jousselin |first1=E. |last2=Rasplus |first2=J.-Y. |last3=Kjellberg |first3=F. |year=2003 |title=Convergence and coevolution in a mutualism: evidence from a molecular phylogeny of Ficus |journal=Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution |volume=57 |issue=6 |pages=1255–1269 |doi=10.1554/02-445 |pmid=12894934 |bibcode=2003Evolu..57.1255J |s2cid=1962136}}</ref>{{sfnp|Rønsted ''et al.''|2008}} Of Corner's original subgeneric divisions of the genus, only ''Sycomorus'' is supported as monophyletic in the majority of phylogenetic studies.{{sfnp|Rønsted ''et al.''|2005}}<ref name="Weiblen" /><ref name="Jousselin" /> Notably, there is no clear split between dioecious and monoecious lineages.{{sfnp|Rønsted ''et al.''|2005}}<ref name="Weiblen" /><ref name="Herre" /><ref name="Jousselin" />{{sfnp|Rønsted ''et al.''|2008}} One of the two sections of ''Pharmacosycea'', a monoecious group, form a monophyletic clade basal to the rest of the genus, which includes the other section of ''Pharmacosycea'', the rest of the monoecious species, and all of the dioecious species.{{sfnp|Rønsted ''et al.''|2008}} These remaining species are divided into two main monophyletic lineages (though the statistical support for these lineages is not as strong as for the monophyly of the more derived clades within them). One consists of all sections of ''Urostigma'' except for section ''Urostigma s. s.''. The other includes section ''Urostigma s. s.'', subgenus ''Sycomorus'', and the species of subgenus ''Ficus'', though the relationships of the sections of these groups to one another are not well resolved.{{sfnp|Rønsted ''et al.''|2005}}{{sfnp|Rønsted ''et al.''|2008}}

==Selected species== {{main|List of Ficus species|l1 = List of ''Ficus'' species}}

''Ficus'' species are found worldwide, mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. {{As of|2025|7}}, there are 881 accepted ''Ficus'' species according to Plants of the World Online.<ref name = powo>{{cite web |title=''Ficus'' Tourn. ex L. |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:327905-2 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=9 July 2025}}</ref> Most species occur in the Indo-Australasian region, with about 511 species, making it the main center of diversity. The highest diversity is in Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Borneo. About 132 species grow in the Neotropical region (Central and South America). In the Afrotropical region, including Madagascar, around 112 species are recognized, with 36 found in southern Africa and 25 native to South Africa.{{Sfn|Falistocco|2024|pp=264-265}} In the tropical forest, ''Ficus'' is often the most species-rich plant genus, particularly in Asia.{{sfnp|Harrison|2005}} This species richness declines with an increase in latitude in both hemispheres.{{sfnp|van Noort|van Harten|2006}}{{sfnp|Berg|Hijmann|1989}} Molecular clock estimates indicate that ''Ficus'' is a relatively ancient genus, being at least 60 million years old, and possibly up to 80 million years old.{{sfnp|Rønsted ''et al.''|2005}} However, the major diversification of living species likely occurred more recently, between 20 and 40 million years ago.

===Subgenus ''Ficus''===  {{Div col|colwidth=20em}} * ''Ficus amplissima'' Sm. – bat fig * ''Ficus carica'' L. – common fig * ''Ficus daimingshanensis'' Chang * ''Ficus deltoidea'' Jack – mistletoe fig * ''Ficus erecta'' Thunb. – Japanese fig * ''Ficus fulva'' Reinw. ex Blume * ''Ficus grossularioides'' Burman f. – white-leaved fig * ''Ficus neriifolia'' Sm. * ''Ficus palmata'' Forssk. * ''Ficus pandurata'' Hance * ''Ficus simplicissima'' Lour. * ''Ficus triloba'' Buch.-Ham. ex Voigt {{Div col end}}

===Subgenus ''Pharmacosycea''===  {{Div col|colwidth=20em}} * ''Ficus crassiuscula'' Standl. * ''Ficus gigantosyce'' Dugand * ''Ficus insipida'' Willd. * ''Ficus lacunata'' Kvitvik * ''Ficus maxima'' Mill. * ''Ficus mutabilis'' Bureau * ''Ficus nervosa'' Heyne ex Roth * ''Ficus pulchella'' Schott * ''Ficus yoponensis'' Desv. {{Div col end}}

===Subgenus ''Sycidium''===  {{Div col|colwidth=20em}} * ''Ficus andamanica'' Corner * ''Ficus aspera'' G.Forst. * ''Ficus assamica'' Miq. * ''Ficus bojeri'' Baker * ''Ficus capreifolia'' Delile * ''Ficus coronata'' Spin – creek sandpaper fig * ''Ficus fraseri'' Miq. – shiny sandpaper fig * ''Ficus heterophylla'' L.f. * ''Ficus lateriflora'' Vahl * ''Ficus montana'' Burm.f. – oakleaf fig * ''Ficus opposita'' Miq. – sweet sandpaper fig * ''Ficus phaeosyce'' K.Schum. & Lauterb. * ''Ficus tinctoria'' G.Forst. – dye fig * ''Ficus ulmifolia'' Lam. * ''Ficus wassa'' Roxb. {{Div col end}}

===Subgenus ''Sycomorus''===  {{Div col|colwidth=20em}} * ''Ficus auriculata'' Lour. – Roxburgh fig * ''Ficus bernaysii'' King * ''Ficus dammaropsis'' Diels – highland breadfruit, ''kapiak'' * ''Ficus fistulosa'' Blume * ''Ficus hispida'' L. * ''Ficus nota'' Merr. – ''tibig'' * ''Ficus pseudopalma'' Blanco * ''Ficus racemosa'' L. – cluster fig * ''Ficus septica'' Burm.f. – hauli tree * ''Ficus sycomorus'' L. – sycamore fig (Africa) * ''Ficus variegata'' Blume {{Div col end}}

===Subgenus ''Synoecia''===  The following species{{sfnp|Berg|2003}} are typically spreading or climbing lianas: {{Div col|colwidth=20em}} * ''Ficus hederacea'' Roxb.{{sfnp|Berg|2003|page=552}} * ''Ficus pantoniana'' King{{sfnp|Berg|2003|page=554}} – climbing fig * ''Ficus pumila'' L.{{sfnp|Berg|2003|page=553}} – creeping fig ** ''Ficus pumila'' var. ''awkeotsang'' (Makino) Corner – jelly fig * ''Ficus punctata'' Thunb.{{sfnp|Berg|2003|pages=565}} * ''Ficus sagittata'' J. König ex Vahl * ''Ficus sarmentosa'' Buch.-Ham. ex Sm. * ''Ficus trichocarpa'' Blume * ''Ficus villosa'' Blume{{sfnp|Berg|2003|pages=553–554}} {{Div col end}}

===Subgenus ''Urostigma''===  {{Div col|colwidth=20em}} * ''Ficus abutilifolia'' Miq. * ''Ficus albert-smithii'' Standl. * ''Ficus altissima'' Blume * ''Ficus amazonica'' Miq. * ''Ficus americana'' Aubl. * ''Ficus aripuanensis'' Berg & Kooy * ''Ficus arpazusa'' Carauta and Diaz – Brazil{{sfnp|Carauta|Diaz|2002|pages=38–39}} * ''Ficus aurea'' Nutt. – Florida strangler fig * ''Ficus benghalensis'' L. – Indian banyan * ''Ficus benjamina'' L. – weeping fig<ref name ="figweb">{{cite web |url=https://www.figweb.org/Ficus/Subgenus_Urostigma/Section_Urostigma/Subsection_Conosycea/index.htm |last1=van Noort |first1=S. |last2=Rasplus |first2=J.Y. |date=2020 |work=Figweb: figs and fig wasps of the world |title=Subsection ''Conosycea'' |access-date=11 August 2019}}</ref> * ''Ficus bizanae'' Hutch. & Burtt-Davy * ''Ficus blepharophylla'' Vázquez Avila * ''Ficus broadwayi'' Urb. * ''Ficus burtt-davyi'' Hutch. * ''Ficus calyptroceras'' Miq. * ''Ficus castellviana'' Dugand * ''Ficus catappifolia'' Kunth & Bouché * ''Ficus citrifolia'' Mill. – short-leaved fig * ''Ficus consociata'' Bl. * ''Ficus cordata'' Thunb. * ''Ficus costata'' Ait.<ref name ="figweb"/> * ''Ficus crassipes'' F.M.Bailey – round-leaved banana fig * ''Ficus craterostoma'' Mildbr. & Burret * ''Ficus cyathistipula'' Warb. * ''Ficus cyclophylla'' (Miq.) Miq. * ''Ficus dendrocida'' Kunth * ''Ficus depressa'' Bl. * ''Ficus destruens'' F.White * ''Ficus drupacea'' Thunb. * ''Ficus elastica'' Hornem. – rubber plant * ''Ficus exasperata'' Vahl. * ''Ficus faulkneriana'' Berg * ''Ficus fergusonii'' (King) T.B.Worth. ex Corner * ''Ficus glaberrima'' Blume * ''Ficus glumosa'' Delile * ''Ficus greiffiana'' Dugand * ''Ficus henneana'' Miq. * ''Ficus hirsuta'' Schott * ''Ficus ilicina'' Miq. * ''Ficus kurzii'' King * ''Ficus luschnathiana'' Miq. * ''Ficus ingens'' Miq. * ''Ficus krukovii'' Standl. * ''Ficus lacor'' Buch.-Ham. * ''Ficus lapathifolia'' Miq. * ''Ficus lauretana'' Vázquez Avila * ''Ficus longifolia'' Schott – narrow leaf fig * ''Ficus lutea'' Vahl * ''Ficus lyrata'' Warb. – fiddle-leaved fig * ''Ficus maclellandii'' King – Alii fig * ''Ficus macrophylla'' Desf. ex Pers. – Moreton Bay fig * ''Ficus malacocarpa'' Standl. * ''Ficus mariae'' Berg, Emygdio & Carauta * ''Ficus mathewsii'' Miq. * ''Ficus matiziana'' Dugand * ''Ficus microcarpa'' L. – Chinese banyan * ''Ficus muelleriana'' Berg * ''Ficus natalensis'' Hochst. – Natal fig * ''Ficus obliqua'' G.Forst. – small-leaved fig * ''Ficus obtusifolia'' Kunth * ''Ficus pakkensis'' Standl. * ''Ficus pallida'' Vahl * ''Ficus panurensis'' Standl. * ''Ficus pertusa'' L.f. * ''Ficus petiolaris'' Kunth * ''Ficus pisocarpa'' Bl. * ''Ficus platypoda'' Cunn. – desert fig * ''Ficus pleurocarpa'' DC. – banana fig * ''Ficus polita'' Vahl * ''Ficus religiosa'' L. – sacred fig * ''Ficus roraimensis'' Berg * ''Ficus rubiginosa'' Desf. – Port Jackson fig * ''Ficus rumphii'' Blume * ''Ficus salicifolia'' Vahl – willow-leaved fig * ''Ficus sansibarica'' Warb. * ''Ficus schippii'' Standl. * ''Ficus schultesii'' Dugand * ''Ficus schumacheri'' Griseb. * ''Ficus sphenophylla'' Standl. * ''Ficus stuhlmannii'' Warb. * ''Ficus subcordata'' Bl. * ''Ficus subpisocarpa'' Gagnep. * ''Ficus subpuberula'' Corner * ''Ficus sumatrana'' Miq. * ''Ficus superba'' Miq. * ''Ficus thonningii'' Blume * ''Ficus trichopoda'' Baker * ''Ficus trigona'' L.f. * ''Ficus trigonata'' L. * ''Ficus triradiata'' Corner – red-stipule fig * ''Ficus ursina'' Standl. * ''Ficus velutina'' Willd. * ''Ficus verruculosa'' Warb. * ''Ficus virens'' Aiton – white fig * ''Ficus watkinsiana'' F.M.Bailey – Watkins' fig {{Div col end}}

===Unplaced species=== {{Div col|colwidth=20em}} * ''Ficus callosa'' Willd. * ''Ficus geniculata'' Kurz.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:852882-1 |title=Ficus geniculata Kurz |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2023 |access-date=2025-11-02}}</ref> – putkal<ref>{{Cite journal |first1=Madhu |last1=Kumari |first2=Jay |last2=Hemke |first3=Gitesh |last3=Chaware |first4=Bhushan |last4=Kinchak |title=Ficus geniculata (Putkal): A boon |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341126211 |journal=International Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences}} </ref> * ''Ficus hebetifolia'' * ''Ficus punctata'' * ''Ficus salomonensis'' * ''Ficus tsjahela'' Burm.f. * ''Ficus vogeliana''

==Uses== The wood of fig trees is often soft and the latex precludes its use for many purposes. It was used to make mummy caskets in Ancient Egypt. Certain fig species (mainly ''F. cotinifolia'', ''F. insipida'' and ''F. padifolia'') are traditionally used in Mesoamerica to produce ''papel amate'' (Nahuatl: ''āmatl''). ''Mutuba'' (''F. natalensis'') is used to produce barkcloth in Uganda. One of the standard ''kbach rachana'' decorative elements in Cambodian architecture was inspired by the shapes of the leaves of ''Pou'' (''F. religiosa''). Indian banyan (''F. benghalensis'') and the Indian rubber plant, as well as other species, have use in herbalism.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Logesh |first1=Rajan |last2=Vivekanandarajah Sathasivampillai |first2=Saravanan |last3=Varatharasan |first3=Sujarajini |last4=Rajan |first4=Soundararajan |last5=Das |first5=Niranjan |last6=Pandey |first6=Jitendra |last7=Prasad Devkota |first7=Hari |date=2023-01-01 |title=Ficus benghalensis L. (Moraceae): A review on ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological activities |journal=Current Research in Biotechnology |volume=6 |article-number=100134 |doi=10.1016/j.crbiot.2023.100134 |issn=2590-2628|doi-access=free }}</ref>{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} The inner bark of an unknown type of wild fig, locally known as ''urú'', was once used by the {{ill|Moré people|es|Pueblo moré}} of Bolivia to produce a fibrous cloth used for clothing.<ref>{{cite book |last=Castedo |first=Luis D. Leigue |date=1957 |title=El Itenez Selvaje |url=https://www.andesacd.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/El-It%C3%A9nez-Salvaje.pdf |location=La Paz |publisher=Ministerio de Educación |pages=9, 16, 19, 23 |language=es}}</ref>

=== Cultivation === Figs have played an important role in human culture since prehistoric times. Archaeological evidence indicates that the common fig (''F. carica'') and sycamore fig (''F. sycomorus''), were among the earliest plant species deliberately bred for agriculture in the Middle East over 11,000 years ago. Nine subfossil ''F. carica'' figs dated to about 9400–9200 BCE were discovered in the early Neolithic site of Gilgal I in the Jordan Valley, predating the earliest known grain cultivation in the region by many hundreds of years.{{sfnp|Kislev|Hartmann|Bar-Yosef|2006}} Fig cultivation was documented in the 12th-century agricultural work ''Book on Agriculture'' by Ibn al-'Awwam.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ibn al-'Awwam |first=Yaḥyá |author-link=Ibn al-'Awwam |title=Le livre de l'agriculture d'Ibn-al-Awam (kitab-al-felahah) |year=1864 |location=Paris |publisher=A. Franck |translator=J.-J. Clement-Mullet |pages=277–281 (ch. 7 - Article 25) |url=https://archive.org/details/lelivredelagric00algoog/page/n14/mode/2up |language=fr |oclc=780050566}} (pp. [https://archive.org/details/lelivredelagric00algoog/page/n384/mode/2up 277]–281 (Article XXV)</ref> Today, numerous species of fig are found in cultivation in domestic and office environments, including:<ref name="RHSAZ">{{cite book |editor-last=Brickell |editor-first=Christopher |title=The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants |year=2008 |page=448 |publisher=Dorling Kindersley |location=United Kingdom |isbn=9781405332965}}</ref> * ''F. carica'', common fig – hardy to {{convert|-10 |C|F|abbr=on}}. Grown outdoors in mild temperate regions for fruits. Many cultivars. * ''F. benjamina'', weeping fig, ficus – hardy to {{convert| 5|C|F|abbr=on}}. Popular indoor plant. Several cultivars. * ''F. elastica'', rubber plant – hardy to {{convert|10 |C|F|abbr=on}}: Popular houseplant. Several cultivars. * ''F. lyrata'', fiddle-leaf fig – hardy to {{convert|10 |C|F|abbr=on}} * ''F. maclellandii'' – hardy to {{convert|5 |C|F|abbr=on}} * ''F. microcarpa'', Indian laurel – hardy to {{convert|10 |C|F|abbr=on}} * ''F. pumila'', creeping fig – hardy to {{convert|1 |C|F|abbr=on}} * ''F. rubiginosa'', Port Jackson fig – hardy to {{convert|10 |C|F|abbr=on}}

===Cultural significance=== {{Further|Fig leaf|Figs in the Bible}}

Fig trees have profoundly influenced culture through several religious and cultural traditions, and several species are regarded as sacred. The sacred fig (''F. religiosa'') is especially important in Asia. In Buddhism, it is believed that Gautama Buddha attained ''bodhi'' (enlightenment) after meditating beneath the Bodhi tree for 49 days.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Bodhi Tree |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095520179 |website=Oxford Reference}}</ref>{{Sfn|Falistocco|2024|p=266}} After destroyed in seventh century, a branch of the original tree was planted in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, approximately in the third century BCE.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="RMTRR">{{cite web|url=http://www.rmtrr.org/oldlist.htm|title=Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research, OLDLIST|access-date=3 July 2011}}</ref> In Hinduism, the same species is known as the ''Ashvattha'', which is revered as a sacred "world tree." The ''Plaksa Pra-sravana'' was said to be a fig tree between the roots of which the Sarasvati River sprang forth; it is usually held to be a sacred fig but more probably is ''Ficus virens''. In Jainism, the consumption of any fruit belonging to this genus is prohibited.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B0IYAAAAIAAJ |title=Compendium of Jainism |last1=Tukol |first1=T.K. |year=1980 |author-link=T. K. Tukol |location=Prasaranga |publisher=Karnatak University |page=206}}</ref> The common fig is one of two significant trees in Islam, and there is a sura in Quran named "The Fig" or At-Tin (سوره تین). The common fig tree is first mentioned in the Bible when Adam and Eve, after gaining knowledge of their nakedness, sew fig leaves together for coverings. Throughout the Hebrew Bible, the fig tree symbolizes peace, prosperity, and divine blessing.<ref name=":2">{{Citation |last=Shafer-Elliott |first=Cynthia |title=Fruits, Nuts, Vegetables, and Legumes |date=2022 |work=T&T Clark Handbook of Food in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel |pages=142 |editor-last=Fu |editor-first=Janling |url=https://www.bloomsburyfoodlibrary.com/encyclopedia-chapter?docid=b-9780567679826&tocid=b-9780567679826-chapter8 |access-date=2025-07-27 |series=T&T Clark Handbooks |edition=1 |place=London |publisher=T&T Clark |language=en |isbn=978-0-567-67982-6 |editor2-last=Shafer-Elliott |editor2-first=Cynthia |editor3-last=Meyers |editor3-first=Carol}}</ref> It is often paired with the grapevine as a key agricultural product of ancient Israel and is listed among the Seven Species with which the land was blessed.<ref name=":2" /> Its sweet fruit was highly valued, and the tree appears in parables and prophetic texts, sometimes as a symbol of abundance, and at other times, when withered or destroyed, as a metaphor for judgment and desolation.<ref name=":2" /> The fig tree was sacred in ancient Greece and Cyprus, where it was a symbol of fertility.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

==Famous fig trees== * ''Ashvattha'' – the world tree of Hinduism, held to be a supernatural ''F. religiosa'' * Bodhi tree – a ''F. religiosa'' * Charybdis Fig Tree of Homer's ''Odyssey'', presumably a ''F. carica'' * Curtain Fig Tree – a ''F. virens'' * Ficus Ruminalis – a ''F. carica'' * ''Plaksa'' – another supernatural fig in Hinduism; usually identified as ''F. religiosa'' but is probably ''F. virens'' * Santa Barbara's Moreton Bay Fig Tree – a ''F. macrophylla'' * Sri Maha Bodhi – another ''F. religiosa'', planted in 288 BCE, the oldest human-planted tree on record * ''The Barren Fig Tree'' – Matthew 21:19 of the Christian Bible, Jesus put a curse on the tree and used this as an example for believers of the promise of the power faith in the only true God. * The Great Banyan – a ''F. benghalensis'', a clonal colony and once the largest organism known * Vidurashwatha – "Vidura's Sacred Fig Tree", a village in India named after a famous ''F. religiosa'' that until recently stood there * Wonderboom – the largest fig tree in Pretoria, South Africa, which has grown very large, through self-layering (limbs laying in the ground take root).

== See also ==

* List of Ficus diseases

== Citations == {{reflist}}

== General references == {{Refbegin|30em}} * {{cite journal |last=Berg |first=C.C. |title=Flora Malesiana Precursor for the Treatment of Moraceae 4: ''Ficus'' subgenus ''Synoecia'' |journal=Blumea |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=551–571 |date=28 November 2003 |doi=10.3767/000651903X489546 |bibcode=2003Blume..48..551B |url=https://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/565443 }} * {{cite book |last1=Berg |first1=C.C. |last2=Hijmann |first2=M.E.E. |title=Flora of Tropical East Africa |year=1989 |editor=R.M. Polhill |chapter=Chapter 11: ''Ficus'' |pages=43–86}} * {{cite book |last1=Berg |first1=C.C. |last2=Corner |first2=E.J.H. |year=2005 |title=Flora malesiana. Series I, Seed plants. Volume 17. Part 2, Moraceae (Ficus) |location=Leiden |publisher=National herbarium Nederland, Universiteit Leiden branch |isbn=978-9-07123-661-7 |oclc=492578589}} * {{cite book |last1=Carauta |first1=Pedro |last2=Diaz |first2=Ernani |year=2002 |title=Figueiras no Brasil |publisher=Editora UFRJ |location=Rio de Janeiro |isbn=978-85-7108-250-2}} * {{cite book |author-link=Ira J. Condit |last=Condit |first=Ira J |date=1969 |title=Ficus: the exotic species |publisher=University of California, Division of Agricultural Sciences |oclc=1086743649}} * {{cite book |last=Denisowski |first=Paul |year=2007 |url=https://www.mandarintools.com/worddict.html |title=Chinese–English Dictionary |chapter-url=http://www.mandarintools.com/cgi-bin/wordlook.pl?word=fig&searchtype=english&where=whole |chapter=Fig |access-date=November 1, 2008 }} *{{Citation |last=Falistocco |first=Egizia |title=The World of Figs: An Overview |date=2024 |work=Economically Important Trees: Origin, Evolution, Genetic Diversity and Ecology |pages=261–298 |editor-last=Uthup |editor-first=Thomas K. |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-5940-8_7 |access-date=2026-02-24 |place=Singapore |publisher=Springer Nature |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-981-97-5940-8_7 |isbn=978-981-97-5940-8 |editor2-last=Karumamkandathil |editor2-first=Rekha|url-access=subscription }} * {{cite journal |last1=Harrison |first1=Rhett D |year=2005 |title=Figs and the diversity of tropical rain forests |journal=BioScience |volume=55 |issue=12 |pages=1053–1064 |doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2005)055[1053:FATDOT]2.0.CO;2 |doi-access=free }} * {{cite journal |last1=Kislev |first1=Mordechai E. |last2=Hartmann |first2=Anat |last3=Bar-Yosef |first3=Ofer |year=2006 |title=Early Domesticated Fig in the Jordan Valley |journal=Science |volume=312 |issue=5778 |pages=1372–1374 |doi=10.1126/science.1125910 |pmid=16741119 |bibcode=2006Sci...312.1372K |s2cid=42150441}} [http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/sci;312/5778/1372/DC1 Supporting Online Material] * {{cite journal |ref=none |last1=Kislev |first1=Mordechai E. |last2=Hartmann |first2=Anat |last3=Bar-Yosef |first3=Ofer |year=2006 |title=Response to Comment on "Early Domesticated Fig in the Jordan Valley" |journal=Science |volume=314 |issue=5806 |page=1683b |doi=10.1126/science.1133748 |bibcode=2006Sci...314.1683K |s2cid=84471716 |doi-access=}} * {{cite journal |last1=Lev-Yadun |first1=Simcha |last2=Ne'eman |first2=Gidi |last3=Abbo |first3=Shahal |last4=Flaishman |first4=Moshe A |year=2006 |title=Comment on "Early Domesticated Fig in the Jordan Valley" |journal=Science |volume=314 |issue=5806 |page=1683a |doi=10.1126/science.1132636 |pmid=17170278 |bibcode=2006Sci...314.1683L |s2cid=45767896 |doi-access=}} * {{cite book |last1=Lewington |first1=Anna |last2=Parker |first2=Edward |year=1999 |title=Ancient trees: Trees that live for 1000 years |location=London |publisher=Collins & Brown |isbn=978-18-5585-704-9}} * {{cite journal |last1=Rønsted |first1=Nina |last2=Weiblen |first2=George D. |last3=Cook |first3=James M. |last4=Salamin |first4=Nicholas |last5=Machado |first5=Carlos A. |last6=Savoainen |first6=Vincent |year=2005 |title=60 million years of co-divergence in the fig-wasp symbiosis |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=272 |issue=1581 |pages=2593–2599 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2005.3249 |pmid=16321781 |ref={{harvid|Rønsted ''et al.''|2005}} |pmc=1559977}} * {{cite journal |last1=Rønsted |first1=N |last2=Weiblen |first2=G.D. |last3=Clement |first3=W.L. |last4=Zerega |first4=N.J.C. |last5=Savolainen |first5=V. |year=2008 |title=Reconstructing the phylogeny of figs (Ficus, Moraceae) to reveal the history of the fig pollination mutualism |url=https://geo.cbs.umn.edu/RonstedEtAl2008a.pdf |journal=Symbiosis |volume=45 |issn=0334-5114 |ref={{harvid|Rønsted ''et al.''|2008}} }} *{{Cite book |url=https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/book/10.1079/9781789242881.0000 |title=The fig: botany, production and uses |date=2022 |publisher=CABI |isbn=978-1-78924-288-1 |editor-last=Sarkhosh |editor-first=Ali |location=Wallingford |doi=10.1079/9781789242881.0000 |editor-last2=Yavari |editor-first2=Alimohammad |editor-last3=Ferguson |editor-first3=Louise}} * {{cite journal |last1=Shanahan |first1=M. |last2=Compton |first2=S. G. |last3=So |first3=Samson |last4=Corlett |first4=Richard |year=2001 |title=Fig-eating by vertebrate frugivores: a global review |journal=Biological Reviews |volume=76 |issue=4 |pages=529–572 |doi=10.1017/S1464793101005760 |pmid=11762492 |s2cid=27827864}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20091019170541/http://geocities.com/mikeshanahan/figs/figreview.html Electronic appendices] * {{cite journal |last1=van Noort |first1=Simon |last2=van Harten |first2=Antonius |title=The species richness of fig wasps (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Agaonidae, Pteromalidae) in Yemen |journal=Fauna of Arabia |year=2006 |volume=22 |pages=449–472 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230600455 |access-date=2013-01-01 }} {{Refend}} ==External links== {{Commons category|Ficus}} * [https://www.figweb.org/Ficus/index.htm Figweb]—Major reference site for the genus ''Ficus'' * [http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2019/browse/classification/kingdom/Plantae/genus/Ficus/fossil/0/match/1 World checklist of Ficus species from the Catalogue of Life], 845 species supplied by M. Hassler's World Plants. * [https://www.figweb.org/Interaction/Video/index.htm Video: Interaction of figs and fig wasps]—Multi-award-winning documentary * [https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/fig.html Fruits of Warm Climates: Fig] * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5038116.stm BBC: Fig fossil clue to early farming] * [https://www.etawau.com/Flora/Family__Moraceae/Genus_Ficus.htm Checklist of Ficus species in Borneo Island]

'''Video''' * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCUtpmwacoE How the fig tree strangles other plants for survival in the rainforest]

Category:Ficus Category:Moraceae genera Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus