''Ficus auriculata'' (the Roxburgh fig, ''Elephant ear tree'') is a type of fig tree, native to subtropical and tropical mainland Asia. It is noted for its big and round leaves and edible fruit.

Description

This plant is a small tree of high with numerous bristle-covered branches. The leaves are big and round, and are up to long and wide, with cordate or rounded base, acute apex, and 5–7 main veins from the leaf base. Its petioles are up to long, and it has stipules of about long. The plant has oblate

syconium Syconium (: syconia) is the type of fruit borne by figs (genus ''Ficus''), formed by an enlarged, fleshy, hollow receptacle with multiple ovaries on the inside surface. In essence, it is really a fleshy stem with a number of flowers, so it is co ...

that are up to wide, covered with yellow

pubescence Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's Human body, body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormone, hormonal signals from the Human brain, brain to the gonads: the ovary ...

, and emerge from the trunk or old branches of the tree. ''Ficus auriculata'' is

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

, with male and female flowers produced on separate individuals. On ripening, the fruits turn from light yellow to purple. The fruit is a fleshy receptacle. The fruits form as large clusters on the trunk, on branches and also on the roots. Fruit extracts contain many phenolic compounds (Gaire et al. 2011).

Taxonomy

It was first published by Portuguese Botanist

João de Loureiro João de Loureiro (1717, Lisbon – 18 October 1791) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Jesuit missionary and botanist. Biography After receiving admission to the Jesuit Order, João de Loureiro served as a missionary in Goa, capital of Port ...

(1717–1791), in Fl. Cochinch. on page 666 in 1790. It is commonly known as the ''Roxburgh fig'', which is named after botanist

William Roxburgh William Roxburgh FRSE FRCPE Linnean Society of London, FLS (3/29 June 1751 – 18 February 1815) was a Scottish people, Scottish surgeon and botanist who worked extensively in India, describing species and working on economic botany. He is known ...

, who was appointed Superintendent of the Calcutta Botanical Gardens by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

in 1793. Experiments carried out on fruiting ''Ficus auriculata'' trees at the Calcutta Botanic Gardens by the then Superintendent George King and his Botanic Garden colleagues described in King in 1897 which was the first detailed explanation of how the dioecious figs were pollinated by fig wasps which bred in the figs of male trees and then flew to female fig trees to pollinate the female figs. It is also known as ''Elephant Ear Fig Tree'', ''Elephant Ear Tree'' and ''Giant Indian Fig'', due to the leaves, as ''auricle'' is the Latin word for ear, referring to the two 'ears' at the base of heart shaped leaf.

Distribution

The native range of this species stretches from north-eastern Pakistan to southern China and the Malaysian peninsula. It is found in the countries (and regions) of Assam, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Bangladesh, Cambodia, southern China, Bhutan, Sikkim, Hainan, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Habitat

It grows in forests in moist valleys, growing along stream banks.

Ecology

'' Ceratosolen emarginatus'' is an insect that helps to pollinate this plant.

Uses

The fresh fruit of this plant is consumed as food, and has diuretic, laxative and digestive regulating properties. ''Ficus auriculata'' is used as

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food ...

in Nepal. It is least resistant to fire, but likes good sunlight. The large leaves, often up to long and wide are used as plates.

Plant problems

The tree is susceptible to scale. It also has minor issues with

gall Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to benign tumors or war ...

, mealy bugs,

thrips Thrips (Order (biology) , order Thysanoptera) are minute (mostly long or less), slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Entomologists have species description , described approximately 7,700 species. They fly on ...

whitefly Whiteflies are Hemipterans that typically feed on the undersides of plant leaves. They comprise the family Aleyrodidae, the only family in the superfamily Aleyrodoidea. More than 1550 species have been described. Description and taxonomy The A ...

, and spider mite.

Photo gallery

File:Fig_Fruits,_അത്തിപ്പഴം.JPG, Fruit emerging from trunk and branches File:Fig_Leaves,_അത്തിയില.JPG, Leaf of elephant ear fig File:Ficus auriculata 04.jpg, Fruit File:Ficus auriculata leaf.jpg, Leaf File:Ficus auriculata fruit 2.jpg, Fruit File:Ficus auriculata seeds, by Omar Hoftun.jpg, Seeds

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q4959177 auriculata Flora of the Indian subcontinent Flora of Indo-China Flora of China Dioecious plants Taxa named by João de Loureiro Plants described in 1790