Weeping Fig

Ficus benjamina

''Ficus benjamina'', commonly known as weeping fig, benjamin fig or ficus tree, and often sold in stores as just ficus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to Asia and Australia.
Weeping Fig Close of of the fruits and leaves of this Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina). This is from a large fig tree standing out in an oil palm plantation, probably fully covered the original host tree. It was fruiting heavily and producing lots of fig wasps which attracts lots of swifts flying around. Ficus benjamina,Geotagged,Malaysia,Summer,ficus benjamina

Appearance

''Ficus benjamina'' is a tree reaching 30 m tall in natural conditions, with gracefully drooping branchlets and glossy leaves 6–13 cm , oval with an acuminate tip. The bark is light gray and smooth. The bark of young branches is brownish.

The widely spread, highly branching tree top often covers a diameter of 10 meters. It is a relatively small-leaved fig. The changeable leaves are simple, entire and stalked. The petiole is 1 to 2.5 cm long. The young foliage is light green and slightly wavy, the older leaves are green and smooth; the leaf blade is ovate to ovate-lanceolate with wedge-shaped to broadly rounded base and ends with a short dropper tip.

The pale glossy to dull leaf blade is 5 to 12 cm long and 2 to 6 cm wide. Near the leaf margins are yellow crystal cells. The two membranous, deciduous stipules are not fused, lanceolate and 6 to 12 mm long.

''F. benjamina'' is monoecious. The inflorescences are spherical to egg-shaped, shiny green, and have a diameter of 1.5 cm. In the inflorescences are three types of flowers: male and fertile and sterile female flowers. The scattered, inflorescences, stalked, male flowers have free sepals and a stamen. Many fertile female flowers are sessile and have three or four sepals and an egg-shaped ovary. The more or less lateral style ends in an enlarged scar.

The ripe figs are orange-red and have a diameter of 2.0 to 2.5 cm.
Weeping Fig fruiting heavily Hundreds of thousands of small ripe red fruits seen fruiting on this tree. Weeping figs are called for their long drooping leaves that shows it looks sad. This is from a large fig tree standing out in an oil palm plantation, probably fully covered the original host tree. It was fruiting heavily and producing lots of fig wasps which attracts lots of swifts flying around. All fruit stages are observed. This plantation company has some good fig trees growing in their land and my organization has obtained permission to collect and grow these fig trees in our reforestation sites. Ficus benjamina,Geotagged,Malaysia,Summer,Weeping Fig

Distribution

It is the official tree of Bangkok. A recently described variety, ''Ficus benjamina'' var. ''Bracteata'' is found in uplifted coral forests of southern Taiwan.

The species is also naturalized in the West Indies and in the states of Florida and Arizona in the United States. In its native range, its small fruit are favored by some birds, such as the superb fruit dove, wompoo fruit dove, pink-spotted fruit dove, ornate fruit dove, orange-bellied fruit dove, Torresian imperial pigeon, and purple-tailed imperial pigeon.

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassEudicots
OrderRosales
FamilyMoraceae
GenusFicus
SpeciesF. benjamina
Photographed in
Malaysia