Ficus

Ficus is a genus of about 800 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemi-epiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the warm temperate zone. The so-called Common Fig (F. carica) is a temperate species from the Middle East and southern Europe, which has been widely cultivated from ancient times for its fruit, also referred to as figs. The fruit of most other species are also edible though they are usually of only local economic importance or eaten as bushfood. However, they are extremely important food resources for wildlife. Figs are also of paramount cultural importance throughout the tropics, both as objects of worship and for their many practical uses. Among the more famous species are the Sacred Fig tree (Peepul, Bodhi, Bo, or Po, Ficus religiosa) and the Banyan Fig (Ficus benghalensis). The oldest living plant of known planting date is a Ficus religiosa tree known as the Sri Maha Bodhi planted in the temple at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka by King Tissa in 288 BC. The Common Fig tree (Ficus carica) is the first plant cited in the Bible. In Genesis 3:7 is described how Adam and Eve cover themselves with fig leaves when they discover that they are naked. The fig fruit is also included in the list of food found in the Promised Land, according to the Torah (Deut. 8). They are wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, dates (representing the honey).

Figs occupy a wide variety of ecological niches. Take, for example, the Common Fig, a small temperate deciduous tree whose fingered fig leaf is well-known in art and iconography; or the Weeping Fig (F. benjamina) a hemi-epiphyte with thin tough leaves on pendulous stalks adapted to its rain forest habitat; or the Creeping Fig (F. pumila), a vine whose small, hard leaves form a dense carpet of foliage over rocks or garden walls. Moreover, figs with different plant habits have undergone adaptive radiation in different biogeographic regions, often leading to very high levels of alpha diversity. In the tropics, it is quite common to find that Ficus is the most species-rich plant genus in a particular forest. In Asia as many as 70 or more species can co-exist.


USES
Figs are keystone species in many rainforest ecosystems. Their fruit are a key resource for some fruit carnivores including fruit bats, capuchin monkeys, langurs and mangabeys. They are even more important for some birds. Asian barbets, pigeons, hornbills, fig-parrots and bulbuls are examples of taxa which may almost entirely subsist on figs when these are in plenty. Many Lepidoptera caterpillars, for example of several Euploea species (Crow butterflies), the Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus), the Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes), the Brown Awl (Badamia exclamationis), and Chrysodeixis eriosoma, Choreutidae and Copromorphidae moths feed on fig leaves. The Citrus long-horned beetle (Anoplophora chinensis), for example, has larvae which feed on wood, including that of fig trees; it can become a pest in fig plantations. Similarly, the Sweet Potato Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) is frequently found as a pest on figs grown as potted plants and is spread through the export of these plants to other localities.
The wood of fig trees is often soft and the latex precludes its use for many purposes. For example, it was used to make mummy caskets in Ancient Egypt.


Selected species
Ficus carica - The Common fig is a large, deciduous, shrub or small tree native to southwest Asia and the eastern Mediterranean region (Greece east to Afghanistan).
It grows to a height of 3-10m tall, with smooth grey bark.
The leaves are 12–25 cm long and 10–18 cm across, and deeply lobed with three or five lobes.
The fruit is 3–5 cm long, with a green skin sometimes ripening towards purple. The sap of the tree's green parts is an irritant to human skin.
The Common Fig is widely grown for its edible fruit throughout its natural range Iran and also in the rest of the Mediterranean region and other areas of the world with a similar climate, including Australia, Chile, South Africa, and California, Oregon, Texas, and Washington in the United States. Thousands of cultivars, most unnamed, have been developed or come into existence as human migration brought the fig to many places outside its natural range. It has been an important food crop for thousands of years, and was also thought to be highly beneficial in the diet.

Ficus pumila (creeping fig or climbing fig) is a woody evergreen vine that is native to East Asia. As the common names would suggest, it has a creeping habit and is often used as a houseplant. It is hardy and fast growing and requires little in the way of care as long as the soil is not allowed to dry out between waterings. There are several cultivars, including a variegated and crinkled leaf form.
In warmer climates it can be grown outdoors, but it can become invasive and cover landscape features if not contained. It should not be allowed to climb houses or wooden structures, as the woody tendrils can damage buildings.

Ficus benjamina, commonly known as the Weeping Fig or Benjamin's Fig, is a species of fig tree, native to south and southeast Asia and Australia. It is the official tree of Bangkok, Thailand. It is a tree reaching 30 m (100 ft) tall in natural conditions, with gracefully drooping branchlets and glossy leaves 6-13 cm (2-5 in) long, oval with an acuminate tip.

Ficus aurea, commonly known as the Florida strangler fig (or simply strangler fig) or higuerón, is a tree in the family Moraceae that is native to Florida, the northern and western Caribbean, southern Mexico and Central America south to Panama. The specific epithet aurea was coined by English botanist Thomas Nuttall who described the species in 1846; older names applied to this species have been ruled invalid.
Ficus aurea is a strangler fig; it begins its life as an epiphyte before enlarging and engulfing the host tree and becoming a freestanding tree in its own right. Specimens may reach 30 m (100 ft) in height. The tree provides habitat, food and shelter for a host of tropical lifeforms such as epiphytes in cloud forests as well as numerous birds, mammals, reptiles and invertebrates. Like all figs it has an obligate mutualism with fig wasps; figs are only pollinated by fig wasps, and fig wasps can only reproduce in fig flowers.

Ficus benghalensis, also known as Bengal fig, Indian fig, East Indian fig, Indian Banyan or simply Banyan, also borh and wad or Vad/Vat, is a species of banyan endemic to Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. It can grow into a giant tree covering several hectares. The Great Banyan in the Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah, is considered to be one of the largest tree in the world in terms of area covered. Ficus benghalensis produces prop roots which grow downwards as slender vine. Once these roots reach the ground, they take root and grow into woody trunks that can become indistinguishable from the main trunk.
The figs are eaten by birds and mammals. Fig seeds are dispersed by birds such as the Indian Mynas and studies have shown that seeds that pass through the digestive system of the bird are more likely to germinate as well as sprout earlier.

Ficus citrifolia, also known as the Shortleaf Fig, Giant Bearded Fig or Wild Banyantree, is a species of banyan native to southern Florida, the Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America south to Paraguay.

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