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Species
Ficus benjamina L.
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
SW Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, S Taiwan, Yunnan [Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Philippines, Sikkim, Thailand, Vietnam; N Australia, Pacific Islands].
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Rounded Global Status Rank: GNR - Not Yet Ranked
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Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Ficus+benjamina |
introduced; Fla.; West Indies (Lesser Antilles); native to Asia.
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Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200006350 |
Ficus benjamina, commonly known as the weeping fig, Benjamin's fig, or ficus tree and often sold in stores as just ficus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to south and southeast Asia and Australia. It is the official tree of Bangkok. It is a tree reaching 30 metres (98 ft) tall in natural conditions, with gracefully drooping branchlets and glossy leaves 6–13 cm (2–5 in), oval with an acuminate tip. 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, purple-tailed imperial pigeon (Frith et al. 1976).
Cultivation[edit]
In tropical latitudes, the weeping fig makes a very large and stately tree for parks and other urban situations, such as wide roads. It is often cultivated for this purpose.
It is a very popular houseplant in temperate areas, due to its elegant growth and tolerance of poor growing conditions; it does best in bright, sunny conditions but will also tolerate considerable shade. It requires a moderate amount of watering in summer, and only enough to keep it from drying out in the winter. It does not need to be misted. The plant is sensitive to cold and should be protected from strong drafts. When grown indoors, it can grow too large for its situation, and may need drastic pruning or replacing. Ficus benjamina has been shown to effectively remove gaseous formaldehyde from indoor air.[2]
The fruit is edible, but the plant is not usually grown for its fruit. The leaves are very sensitive to small changes in light. When it is turned around or re-located it reacts by dropping many of its leaves and replacing them with new leaves adapted to the new light intensity.
There are numerous cultivars available (e.g. 'Danielle', 'Naomi', 'Exotica', and 'Golden King'). Some cultivars include different patterns of colouration on the leaves, ranging from light green to dark green, and various forms of white variegation.
In cultivation in the UK, this plant[3] and the variegated cultivar 'Starlight'[4] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
The miniature cultivars, especially 'Too Little', are among the most popular plants for indoor bonsai. Full-sized, artificial[vague] versions are also commonly found in North America and Europe.
Destructive roots[edit]
The United States Forest Service states "Roots grow rapidly invading gardens, growing under and lifting sidewalks, patios, and driveways." They conclude that its use in tree form is much too large for residential planting, therefore in these settings this species should only be used as a hedge or clipped screen.[5]
Gallery[edit]
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tree in Hyderabad, India.
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fig in Hyderabad, India.
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leaves in Hyderabad, India.
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trunk in Hyderabad, India.
References[edit]
- ^ "Ficus benjamina". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
- ^ Kwang Jin Kim, Mi Jung Kil, Jeong Seob Song, Eun Ha Yoo, Ki-Cheol Son, Stanley J. Kays (July 2008). "Efficiency of Volatile Formaldehyde Removal by Indoor Plants: Contribution of Aerial Plant Parts versus the Root Zone". Journal of The American Society for Horticultural Science 133 (4): 521–526. ISSN 0003-1062.
- ^ "Ficus benjamina". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
- ^ "Ficus benjamina 'Starlight' (v) Benjamin fig". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
- ^ Gilman, Edward F.; Watson, Dennis G. (November 1993). "Ficus benjamina Weeping Fig" (PDF). Fact Sheet ST-251. United States Forest Service. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
Bibliography[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ficus benjamina. |
- Frith, H.J.; Rome, F.H.J.C. & Wolfe, T.O. (1976): Food of fruit-pigeons in New Guinea. Emu 76(2): 49-58. HTML abstract
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Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ficus_benjamina&oldid=653559873 |
Chile Central
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Rights holder/Author | Pablo Gutierrez, IABIN |
Source | No source database. |
Ficus benjamina is commonly cultivated as a houseplant. The name probably refers to the supposed relation of the plant to the source of a resin or benzoin procured from the Orient in antiquity.
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Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200006350 |
Distribution: Nepal , N. India, Bangla Desh, Burma, S. China, Malaysia to the Solomon Islands and N. tropical Australia; introduced and cultivated in Pakistan, Ceylon, U.S.A. and elsewhere.
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A large evergreen shrub or tree, up to 8 m or more tall, with nearly 10 m wide spreading crown and drooping shoots, aerial roots absent or very Bark light-grey, smooth, young twigs slender, brownish, glabrous. Leaves with 10-25 mm long petiole; lamina ovate-elliptic to ovate-lanceolate, (3-) 5-12 cm long, 2-6 cm wide, narrow to wide cuneate at the base, cuspidate at the apex, lateral naves numerous, close and nearly parallel, intercostals present, cystoliths present on both sides; stipules paired, lanceolate, 8-10 (-12) mm long, acute, glabrous. Hypanthodia sessile, in axillary pairs globose-ovoid, glabrous green, c. 1.5 cm in diam., subtended by 2-3 crescentric, often unequal sized basal bracts, apical orifice depressed, closed by 3 minute bracts; internal bristles absent. Male flowers: dispersed, Pedicellate, sepals. free; stamen solitary, slightly exserted. Female flowers: numerous, sessile; sepals 3-4, ± spathulate; ovary ovoid with lateral style. Figs orange-red, 2-2.5 cm in diameter, glabrous.
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Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200006350 |
Trees, to 20 m tall, crown wide, d.b.h. 30-50 cm. Bark gray to gray-white, smooth. Main branches producing aerial roots which can develop into new trunks; branchlets gray-white, pendulous, glabrous. Stipules caducous, lanceolate, 0.6-1.5 cm, membranous, glabrous. Petiole 1-2 cm, adaxially sulcate; leaf blade ovate to broadly elliptic, 4-8(-14) × 2-4(-8) cm, ± lea-thery, glabrous, base rounded to cuneate, margin entire, apex shortly acuminate; secondary veins 8-10 on each side of midvein, parallel, anastomosing near margin, indistinct from tertiary veins. Figs axillary on leafy branchlets, paired or solitary, purple, red, or yellow [or red with white dots] when mature, globose to depressed globose or sometimes pear-shaped, 0.8-2 cm in diam., glabrous or pubescent, base attenuate into stalk, sessile; involucral bracts inconspicuous, triangular-ovate, glabrous, persistent. Male, gall, and female flowers within same fig. Male flowers: few, shortly pedicellate; calyx lobes (3 or)4, broadly ovate; stamen 1; filament rather long. Gall flowers: many; calyx lobes (3 or)4 or 5, narrowly spatulate; ovary ovoid, smooth; style ± lateral, short. Female flowers: sessile; calyx lobes 3, shortly spatulate; style ± lateral, short; stigma enlarged. Achenes ovoid-reniform, shorter than persistent style. Fl. Aug-Nov.
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Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200006350 |
Trees , evergreen, to 10 m. Roots adventitious, occasionally hanging. Bark gray, smooth. Branchlets brown, glabrous. Leaves: stipules 0.8-1.2 cm; petiole 0.5-2(-3) cm. Leaf blade oblong, elliptic, lanceolate, or ovate, 4-6(-11) × 1.5-6 cm, nearly leathery, base rounded or cuneate, margins entire, apex acuminate or cuspidate; surfaces abaxially and adaxially glabrous; basal veins 1(-2) pairs, short; lateral veins (6-)12(-14) pairs, regularly spaced, uniform; secondary veins prominent. Syconia solitary or paired, sessile or subsessile, orange, yellow, or dark red, nearly globose, 8-12 × 7-10 mm, glabrous; subtending bracts 2-3, crescent-shaped, 0.5-1.5 mm, glabrous; ostiole closed by 3 small, flat, apical bracts 1.5-2 mm wide, umbonate.
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Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200006350 |