World's Smallet Fig !

Spade Leaf Fig (Ficus excavata) is probably the world's smallest fig species! This is an epiphyte which grows high up in the canopy and produce figs as small as 3mm in diameter only. This is definitely one of the hardest wild fig species that I have ever found. It took me more than half an hour trying to find these tiny fruits growing 50 meters above in the forest canopy. Unripe fruits are yellow and turns orange then brownish red. Leaves are rounded and very small as well. This species is considered very rare as its tiny size and high-growing locations makes it incredibly hard to spot.

The 150+ wild fig species in Borneo are really fascinating but this F. excavata is truly spectacular. My organization (1StopBorneo Wildlife) tries to document interesting wild figs during our wildlife expeditions and an awesome find like this is what drives us enthusiastic to keep on looking for more wonders in nature.

More photos of Spade Leaf Fig (Ficus excavata):

comments (5)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Congrats on this spectacular find, Chun!
Imagine the flowers inside the 3mm, and the possible pollinators even smaller. Wow! Posted 4 years ago
1. _ChunXingWong_
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks Ferdy. Indeed an incredible find. In fact there is a negative correlation in the ratio between fig fruit size and its seeds. The larger the fig fruit, the tinnier the seeds in comparison; the smaller the fig, the larger the seeds and flowers relatively. So a large fig fruit can have tens of thousands of seeds while tiny figs may have tens or sometimes even less. I think this fruit has space to fit a couple of wasp only. Posted 4 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    When explained, that makes total sense, but had no idea. Thank you for this information. Posted 4 years ago