Moreton Bay fig

Appearance

The Moreton Bay fig is an evergreen tree that can reach heights of 60 m. The trunk can be massive, with thick, prominent buttressing, and reach a diameter of 2.4 m.

The rough bark is grey-brown, and marked with various blemishes. It is monoecious: each tree bears functional male and female flowers. As implied by its specific epithet, it has large, elliptic, leathery, dark green leaves, 15–30 cm long, and they are arranged alternately on the stems.

The leaves and branches bleed a milky sap if cut or broken. The figs are 2–2.5 cm in diameter, turning from green to purple with lighter spots as they ripen; ripe fruit may be found year round, although more abundant from February to May. Although edible, they are unpalatable and dry.

The characteristic "melting" appearance of the Moreton Bay fig is due to its habit of dropping aerial roots from its branches, which upon reaching the ground, thicken into supplementary trunks which help to support the weight of its crown.

Distribution

The Moreton Bay fig is a native of most of the eastern coast, from the Atherton Tableland in north Queensland, to the Shoalhaven River on New South Wales south coast.

Habitat

It is found in subtropical, warm temperate and dry rainforest, where, as an emergent tree, its crown may tower above the canopy, particularly along watercourses on alluvial soils. It often grows with trees such as white booyong , ''Flindersia'' species, giant stinging tree, lacebark, red cedar, hoop pine, green-leaved fig and ''Cryptocarya obovata''.

The soils it grows on are high in nutrients, and include Bumbo Latite and Budgong Sandstone. As rainforests were cleared, isolated specimens were left standing in fields as remnant trees, valued for their shade and shelter for livestock. One such tree was a landmark for and gave its name to the Wollongong suburb of Figtree in New South Wales.

It is a rainforest plant and in this environment more often grows in the form of an epiphytic strangler vine than that of a tree. When its seeds land in the branch of a host tree it sends aerial, "strangler" roots down the host trunk, eventually killing the host and standing alone.

Reproduction

Figs have an obligate mutualism with fig wasps; figs are only pollinated by fig wasps, and fig wasps can only reproduce in fig flowers. Generally, each fig species depends on a single species of wasp for pollination. The wasps are similarly dependent on their fig species in order to reproduce. The mainland and Lord Howe populations of the Moreton Bay fig are both pollinated by the fig wasp ''Pleistodontes froggatti''.

As is the case with all figs, the fruit is actually an inverted inflorescence known as a syconium, with tiny flowers arising from the inner surface. ''Ficus macrophylla'' is monoecious—both male and female flowers are found on the same plant, and in fact in the same fruit although they mature at different times.

Female wasps enter the syconium and lay eggs in the female flowers as they mature. These eggs later hatch and the progeny mate. The females of the new generation collect pollen from the male flowers, which have matured by this point, and leave to visit other syconia and repeat the process.

Uses

''Ficus macrophylla'' is widely used as a feature tree in public parks and gardens in warmer climates such as California, Portugal, Italy, northern New Zealand, and Australia. Old specimens can reach tremendous size. Its aggressive root system allows its use in only the largest private gardens.