Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending in ...

fraseri'', the white sandpaper fig or shiny sandpaper fig, is one of several

fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

species commonly known as

sandpaper fig The sandpaper figs are so named for their leaves, which are rough and sandpaper-like in texture. The common name may refer to a number of species in the genus ''Ficus'': Australian species: *'' Ficus carpentariensis'', possibly hybrid individuals * ...

s. It is native to

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and to

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

and

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 ...

. Other common names are "figwood" and "watery fig". It grows as either a shrub or tree with height ranging from around 6 to 15 metres. Its leaves are 6 to 14 cm long and 2.5 to 6.5 cm wide on petioles that are 1 to 2 cm long. The rounded figs are 1 to 1.5 cm long and start out yellow in colour, maturing to orange-red between May and February in the species' native range. They are edible, but insipid. In Australia, the species occurs from

Tuggerah Lake Tuggerah Lake, an intermittently open intermediate wave dominated barrier estuary that is part of the Tuggerah Lakes, is located within the local government area in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The lake is located ...

in New South Wales, northwards to the

Atherton Tableland The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. The principal river flowing across the plateau is the Barron River. It was dammed to form an irrigation reservoir named Lake Tina ...

in Queensland, and rarely in the

. The

grey-headed flying fox The grey-headed flying fox (''Pteropus poliocephalus'') is a megabat native to Australia. The species shares mainland Australia with three other members of the genus ''Pteropus'': the little red ''Pteropus scapulatus, P. scapulatus'', spectacle ...

feeds on the figs. Although rarely seen in cultivation, it is a fast-growing, ornamental species. It can be easily propagated from seed.

Distribution

Chew states that ''F. fraseri'' is found in the

, a statement repeated by Govaerts et al. However, Harden (1990) gives

and

as the only Australian states where it is found. Botanists in Australia seem in little doubt about where it is found when the

Australasian Virtual Herbarium The ''Australasian Virtual Herbarium'' (AVH) is an online resource that allows access to plant specimen data held by various Australian and New Zealand herbaria. It is part of the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), and was formed by the amalgamat ...

data are consulted, giving a distribution map.

GBIF The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet using web services. The data are provided by many institutions from around the ...

, unlike the

Australian Plant Name Index The Australian Plant Name Index (APNI) is an online database of all published names of Australian vascular plants. It covers all names, whether current names, synonyms or invalid names. It includes bibliographic and typification details, informati ...

and

Plants of the World online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

, states that ''Ficus fraseri'' is a synonym of ''Ficus virens'' Aiton. However, Australian botanists clearly distinguish the two species. (See the occurrence map for ''F. virens''.)

Taxonomy

It was first described by Miquel in 1848.

References

fraseri Rosales of Australia Trees of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of New Caledonia Flora of Vanuatu Flora of the Northern Territory Trees of the Pacific Taxa named by Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel Plants described in 1848 {{rosid-tree-stub