![]() Some better-known species that represent the diversity of the genus include.alongside the common fig, whose fingered fig leaf is well known in art and iconography: the weeping fig ( F. benjamina), a hemiepiphyte with thin, tough leaves on pendulous stalks adapted to its rain forest habitat the rough-leaved sandpaper figs from Australia and the creeping fig ( F. pumila), a vine whose small, hard leaves form a dense carpet of foliage over rocks or garden walls. The main radiation of extant species, however, may have taken place more recently, between 20 and 40 million years ago. However, current molecular clock estimates indicate that Ficus is a relatively ancient genus being at least 60 million years old, and possibly as old as 80 million years. No unambiguous older fossils of Ficus are known. All figs present a white to yellowish latex, some in copious quantities the twig shows paired stipules -or circular scars if the stipules have fallen off the lateral veins at the base of the leaf are steep, forming a tighter angle with the midrib than the other lateral veins, a feature referred to as "triveined". ![]() Notably, three vegetative traits together are unique to figs. The unique fig pollination system, involving tiny, highly specific wasps, known as fig wasps that enter via ostiole these subclosed inflorescences to both pollinate and lay their own eggs, has been a constant source of inspiration and wonder to biologists. In essence, the fig fruit is a fleshy stem with multiple tiny flowers that fruit and coalesce. ![]() The fruit of Ficus is an inflorescence enclosed in an urn-like structure called a syconium, which is lined on the inside with the fig's tiny flowers that develop into multiple ovaries on the inside surface. Many have aerial roots and a distinctive shape or habit, and their fruits distinguish them from other plants. ![]() Specific identification of many of the species can be difficult, but members of the genus Ficus are relatively easy to recognize. Fig species are characterized by their unique inflorescence and distinctive pollination syndrome, which uses wasp species belonging to the family Agaonidae for pollination. The white stipule contains a new leaf and a new stipule.įicus is a pantropical genus of trees, shrubs, and vines occupying a wide variety of ecological niches most are evergreen, but some deciduous species are found in areas outside of the tropics and to higher elevations. Figs are also of considerable cultural importance throughout the tropics, both as objects of worship and for their many practical uses.ĭescription Aerial roots that may eventually provide structural support A Ficus carica (common fig) The stipule of Ficus religiosa. However, they are extremely important food resources for wildlife. The fruit of most other species are also edible though they are usually of only local economic importance or eaten as bushfood. The common fig ( F. carica) is a temperate species native to southwest Asia and the Mediterranean region (from Afghanistan to Portugal), which has been widely cultivated from ancient times for its fruit, also referred to as figs. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. Ficus ( / ˈ f aɪ k ə s/ or / ˈ f iː k ə s/ ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae.
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