Evergreen White Fig cap/calyx
This fig is a widespread species which are usually found at the coast and common on islands. It is a strangler in which grows as an hemiepiphyte on a host tree and slowly envelops it, thus "strangling" it. Fruits are small and have short peduncle. Fruit ripens green - white - pink - purple. Leaves stay green, even when dried, giving it the latin name "virens" which means green. In Thailand, the leaves are prepared as a delicacy. The common name for this species is "white fig" which is very confusing as the latin name means "green fig". So to solve this issue, I am calling it the "Evergreen White Fig" instead to include both Latin and English name.
My team (1StopBorneo Wildlife) is trying to document all the figs on Borneo as figs are really important in the ecosystem. The more you know about the value of wild figs, the more you understand how to save wildlife better.
''Ficus virens'' is a plant of the genus ''Ficus'' found in India, southeast Asia, through Malaysia and into Northern Australia. Its common name is white fig; it is locally known as ''pilkhan'' and in the Kunwinjku language it is called ''manbornde''. 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.
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