''Ficus aspera'', the mosaic fig, a plant native to

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

in the south

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

region. The plant first appeared in scientific literature in 1786, published by the German botanist

Georg Forster Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (, 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father, Johann Reinhold F ...

, from a specimen collected from

Tanna Island Tanna (sometimes misspelled ''Tana'') is an island in Tafea Province of Vanuatu. Name The name ''Tanna'', first cited by James Cook, is derived from the word ''tana'' in the Kwamera language, meaning "earth". Etymologically, ''Tanna'' goes bac ...

. The mosaic fig is used as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

. The fruit are

cauliflorous Cauliflory is a botanical term referring to plants that flower and fruit from their main stems or woody trunks, rather than from new growth and shoots. This can allow trees to be pollinated or have their seeds dispersed by animals that climb o ...

(fruit forming from their main stems or woody trunks rather than from new growth and shoots).

References

aspera Aspera may refer to: Music * Aspera (band), an American indie rock band * ''(a)spera'', a 2009 album by Mirah * Above Symmetry, a Norwegian progressive metal band originally known as Aspera * "Aspera", the lead track from ''We Will Become Like Bir ...

Flora of Vanuatu Plants described in 1786 Ornamental trees {{Moraceae-stub