{{Short description|Species of epiphyte}} {{more citations needed|date=January 2015}} {{Speciesbox |image = Curtain Fig.jpg |image_caption = Curtain Fig Tree, Atherton Tableland | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|date=12 June 2018|title=''Ficus virens''|url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/147495192/147631836|access-date=16 February 2022|website=IUCN Red List}}</ref> |genus = Ficus |species = virens |authority = Aiton |synonyms = ''Ficus infectoria'' {{au|(Miq.) Miq.}}, ''Ficus cunninghamii'' }}
'''''Ficus virens''''' is a semi-deciduous plant of the genus ''Ficus'' found in Pakistan, India, east and Southeast Asia, through Malaysia and into Northern Australia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ficus virens - Useful Tropical Plants |url=https://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Ficus+virens |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=tropical.theferns.info}}</ref> Its common name is '''white fig'''; it is locally known as '''''pilkhan''''' and in the Kunwinjku language it is called '''''manbornde'''''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Garde |first1=Murray |title=manbornde |url=https://www.njamed.com/#manbornde |website=Bininj Kunwok Online Dictionary |publisher=Bininj Kunwok Regional Language Centre |accessdate=31 May 2019}}</ref> Like many figs, its fruits are edible. One of the most famous specimens of this tree is the Curtain Fig Tree of the Atherton Tableland, near Cairns, a popular tourist attraction.<ref name="qhr">{{cite QHR|30615|The Curtain Fig Tree|602734|accessdate=1 August 2014}}</ref> Another famous example is the Tree of Knowledge in Darwin.
''Ficus virens'' var. ''sublanceolata'' occurs the subtropical rainforest of northeastern New South Wales, and south eastern Queensland in Australia.
==Description== thumb|right It is a medium-sized to medium-sized tree which grows to a height of {{convert|24-24|m}} In dry areas and up to {{convert|32|m}} tall in wetter areas. It is a fig tree belonging to the group of trees known as strangler figs, which is because its seeds can germinate on other trees and grow to strangle and eventually kill the host tree.
It has two marked growth periods in its Indian environment: in spring (February to early May), and in the time of the monsoon rains (i.e. June to early September). The new leaves are a beautiful shade of reddish pink and very pleasing to the eye.
This is a very massive tree in which the width of the crown can sometimes exceed the height of the tree. Campbell exhibits a photograph of an individual which he states had a girth at breast height of {{cvt|37|m}}, or a DBH of {{cvt|11.5|m}}.<ref>{{cite book | last= Campbell | first= Douglas H. | date= 1926 | title= Outline of Plant Geography | location= New York |publisher= MacMillan and Co. | pages= 249 and photo p. 248 }}</ref> The photo shows no sign of buttresses or a basal swelling.
==Use as food== The leaves are known in Thai cuisine as ''phak liap'' ({{langx|th|ผักเลียบ}}). They are eaten boiled as a vegetable in Northern Thai curries, referred to in the Northern dialect as ''phak hueat'' (ผักเฮือด).
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category}} *{{APNI | name = Ficus virens | id = 21102}} *[https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM6Y1X_Galamarrma_The_Tree_of_Knowledge_Darwin_Australia Galamarrma, The Tree of Knowledge, Darwin, Australia - Exceptional Trees on Waymarking.com]
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Category:Epiphytes virens Category:Flora of tropical Asia Category:Rosales of Australia Category:Rosids of Western Australia Category:Flora of the Northern Territory Category:Flora of Queensland Category:Flora of New South Wales