''Ficus obliqua'', commonly known as the small-leaved fig, is a tree in the family
Moraceae
The Moraceae — often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants comprising about 38 genera and over 1100 species. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however ...
, native to eastern Australia, New Guinea, eastern Indonesia to
Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
and islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Previously known for many years as ''Ficus eugenioides'', it is a
banyan
A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...
of the genus ''
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 ...
'', which contains around 750 species worldwide in warm climates, including the
edible fig (''Ficus carica''). Beginning life as a seedling, which grows on other plants (
epiphyte
An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...
) or on rocks (
lithophyte
Lithophytes are plants that grow in or on rocks. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are also ...
), ''F. obliqua'' can grow to high and nearly as wide with a pale grey
buttressed
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (si ...
trunk, and glossy green leaves.
The small round yellow fruit ripen and turn red at any time of year, although ripening peaks in autumn and winter (April to July). Known as a
syconium
Syconium (plural ''syconia'') is the type of inflorescence 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 flow ...
, the fruit is an inverted
inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
with the flowers lining an internal cavity. ''Ficus obliqua'' is pollinated by two species of
fig wasp
Fig wasps are wasps of the superfamily Chalcidoidea which spend their larval stage inside figs. Most are pollinators but others simply feed off the plant. The non-pollinators belong to several groups within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, while th ...
—''
Pleistodontes greenwoodi'' and ''
P. xanthocephalus''. Many species of bird, including pigeons, parrots and various
passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...
s, eat the fruit. The range is along the east coast from
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_ ...
, through
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 ...
in
rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
,
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
woodland,
sclerophyll forest
Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...
and
gallery forest
A gallery forest is one formed as a corridor along rivers or wetlands, projecting into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands, or deserts. The gallery forest maintains a more temperate microclimate above th ...
. It is used as a
shade tree
A shade tree is a large tree whose primary role is to provide shade in the surrounding environment due to its spreading canopy (forest), canopy and crown (botany), crown, where it may give shelter from sunlight in the heat of the summer for peopl ...
in parks and public spaces, and is well-suited for use as an
indoor plant or in
bonsai
Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of ''penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produce ...
. All parts of the tree have been used in traditional medicine in Fiji.
Taxonomy
Commonly known as the small-leaved fig, ''Ficus obliqua'' was
described by German naturalist
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 ...
in 1786 based on
type material collected in Vanuatu. Dutch botanist
Friedrich Miquel described ''Urostigma eugenioides'' from
Albany Island
Albany Island or Pabaju is an island off the north-eastern coast of Cape York Peninsula in the Adolphus Channel and part of the Manar Group of islands of Queensland, Australia. It is within the locality of Somerset in the Shire of Torres.
G ...
in Queensland in 1861, which was reclassified by
Victorian Government Botanist
Ferdinand von Mueller
Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...
as ''Ficus eugenioides'' in 1867, and it was known as this for many years. However, as Forster's name is older, it takes precedence. The specific epithet is the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
adjective ''obliquus'', meaning "oblique", although the attribute it refers to is unclear.
Frederick Manson Bailey
Frederick Manson Bailey (8 March 1827 – 25 June 1915) was a botanist active in Australia, who made valuable contributions to the characterisation of the flora of Queensland. He was known by his middle name, Manson.
Early life
Bailey was bo ...
described ''Ficus tryonii'' in 1906, from a collection at altitude on Middle Percy Island in the
Whitsunday Islands
The Whitsunday Islands are 74 continental islands of various sizes off the central coast of Queensland, Australia, north of Brisbane. The northernmost of the islands are off the coast by the town of Bowen, while the southernmost islands are ...
off central Queensland, which is now regarded as ''F. obliqua''.
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences.
Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...
and
Daniel Solander
Daniel Carlsson Solander or Daniel Charles Solander (19 February 1733 – 13 May 1782) was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus.
Solander was the first university-educated scientist to set foot on Australian soil.
Biography
...
collected and named ''Ficus virginea'' from
Booby Island in 1770, which was synonymised with ''F. obliqua'' by
William Philip Hiern
William Philip Hiern (19 January 1839 – 28 November 1925) was a British mathematician and botanist.
Life
Hiern attended St. John's College, Cambridge, from 1857 to 1861 and attained a "first class degree" in mathematics. Later, in 1886 ...
in 1901.
The species is currently regarded as
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
. Three
varieties
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
of ''Ficus obliqua'' were recognised until 2001—''F. obliqua'' var. ''petiolaris'', ''F. obliqua'' var. ''obliqua'', and ''F. obliqua'' var. ''puberula'' from
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
. A revision of the group led to the conclusion that ''F. obliqua'' var. ''petiolaris'' belonged in the species ''
F. rubiginosa''.
''F. obliqua'' var. ''puberula'' was found to be more distantly related to ''obliqua'' than ''rubiginosa'' and hence has been reclassified as a separate species, ''
Ficus brachypoda''.
With over 750 species, ''
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 ...
'' is one of the largest
angiosperm
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
.
Based on
morphology
Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to:
Disciplines
* Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts
* Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...
, English botanist
E. J. H. Corner
Edred John Henry Corner FRS (12 January 1906 – 14 September 1996) was an English mycologist and botanist who occupied the posts of assistant director at the Singapore Botanic Gardens (1929–1946) and Professor of Tropical Botany at the Uni ...
divided the genus into four
subgenera
In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...
,
which was later expanded to six.
In this classification, ''Ficus obliqua'' was placed in
subseries
In botany and plant taxonomy, a series is a subdivision of a genus, a taxonomic rank below that of section (and subsection) but above that of species.
Sections and/or series are typically used to help organize very large genera, which may have ...
''Malvanthereae'',
series
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used i ...
''Malvanthereae'',
section
Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea
* Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents
** Section sign ...
''Malvanthera'' of the
subgenus
In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...
''
Urostigma
A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a Ficus, fig that develops accessory trunks from Aerial_root#"Stranglers"_(prop-root), adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees ...
''.
In his reclassification of the Australian ''Malvanthera'', Australian botanist Dale J. Dixon altered the delimitations of the series within the section, but left this species in the series ''Malvanthereae''.
[
In a study published in 2008, Nina Rønsted and colleagues analysed the ]DNA sequences
A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases signified by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. By convention, sequences are usua ...
from the nuclear ribosomal internal
Internal may refer to:
*Internality as a concept in behavioural economics
*Neijia, internal styles of Chinese martial arts
*Neigong or "internal skills", a type of exercise in meditation associated with Daoism
*''Internal (album)'' by Safia, 2016
...
and external transcribed spacer
External transcribed spacer (ETS) refers to a piece of non-functional RNA, closely related to the internal transcribed spacer, which is situated outside structural ribosomal RNAs (rRNA) on a common precursor transcript. ETS sequences characteristi ...
s (ITS and ETS), and the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase
Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (abbreviated GAPDH) () is an enzyme of about 37kDa that catalyzes the sixth step of glycolysis and thus serves to break down glucose for energy and carbon molecules. In addition to this long establishe ...
(G3pdh) region, in the first molecular analysis of the section ''Malvanthera''. They found ''F. obliqua'' to be most closely related to three species of the arid 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 ...
('' F. platypoda'', '' F. subpuberula'' and '' F. lilliputiana'') and classified it in a new series ''Obliquae'' in the subsection ''Platypodeae''. The species had remained a transitional rainforest species while its relatives radiated into dryer regions.[
]
Description
''Ficus obliqua'' is a tree, which may reach in height with a similar crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
width.[ It has smooth thin grey bark with lighter-coloured ]lenticel
A lenticel is a porous tissue consisting of cells with large intercellular spaces in the periderm of the secondarily thickened organs and the bark of woody stems and roots of dicotyledonous flowering plants. It functions as a pore, providing a ...
s, and a buttressed
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (si ...
trunk, which may reach in diameter. The glossy green leaves are elliptic to oblong in shape and measure long by wide on petioles. They are alternately arranged on the stems. Growing in pairs, the round yellow fruit turn orange or orange-red dotted with darker red and reaches a diameter of upon ripening over April to July,[ although fruit can appear at other times of year.] As is the case with all figs, the fruit is an inverted inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
known as a syconium
Syconium (plural ''syconia'') is the type of inflorescence 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 flow ...
, with tiny flowers arising from the inner surface.[ ''Ficus obliqua'' is ]monoecious
Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy.
Monoecy is conne ...
—both male and female flowers are produced by the same plant, and in fact in the same fruit. Within any given fruit, female flowers mature several weeks before the male flowers.
Historically, there has been some confusion between ''Ficus obliqua'' and the related '' F. rubiginosa''.[ ''F. obliqua'' can be distinguished by its smaller fruit on shorter stalks and its ]glabrous
Glabrousness (from the Latin ''glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...
(hairless) leaves; in addition, the petioles have ascending hyaline
A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none.
Histopathology
Hyaline cartilage is ...
hairs. Some forms of ''F. rubiginosa'' have both leaves and petioles glabrous while others have both covered in fine fur.[ The syconia of ''F. obliqua'' are smaller, measuring 4.3–11.9 mm long and 4.4–11.0 mm in diameter, compared with 7.4–17.3 mm long and 7.6–17.3 mm diameter for ''F. rubiginosa''.][ ''Ficus brachypoda'' is a lithophytic plant from arid northern and western Australia, with a short petiole and leaf shape aligning it with ''Ficus platypoda''.
]
Distribution and habitat
''Ficus obliqua'' occurs from Mount Dromedary
Gulaga, dual-named as Mount Dromedary and also referred to as Mount Gulaga, is mountain located in the south coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It rises above the village of Central Tilba and is within the Gulaga National Park. At its ...
(36° S) in southern New South Wales northwards along the coast and Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...
to the tip of Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...
in north Queensland. Outside Australia it occurs on New Guinea and offshore islands,[ through eastern Indonesia to ]Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
in the west and east into the southwestern Pacific, where it is found in New Caledonia, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu. It had been thought to occur in Western Australia, but these collections have been now referred to ''Ficus brachypoda''.[ Preferring soils with high nutrient and water content, it occurs on ]sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
or latite
Latite is an igneous, volcanic rock, with aphanitic- aphyric to aphyric-porphyritic texture. Its mineral assemblage is usually alkali feldspar and plagioclase in approximately equal amounts. Quartz is less than five percent and is absent in a f ...
soils in the Sydney region. The habitat is warm temperate to moist subtropical rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
. Large specimens can rise above the canopy
Canopy may refer to:
Plants
* Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests)
* Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes
Religion and ceremonies
* Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...
as emergent trees.[
]
Ecology
The double-eyed fig parrot (''Cyclopsitta diophthalma'') eats the fruit of ''Ficus obliqua'', steadily depositing fruity detritus on the ground. The rainbow lorikeet
The rainbow lorikeet (''Trichoglossus moluccanus'') is a species of parrot found in Australia. It is common along the eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. Six ...
(''Trichoglossus moluccanus'') is another parrot that consumes the fruit and disperses the seeds;[ other Australian bird species include the ]southern cassowary
The southern cassowary (''Casuarius casuarius''), also known as double-wattled cassowary, Australian cassowary or two-wattled cassowary, is a large flightless black bird. It is one of the three living species of cassowary, alongside the dwarf c ...
(''Casuarius casuarius''), brown cuckoo-dove
The brown cuckoo-dove (''Macropygia phasianella'') is a dove in the genus ''Macropygia'' found in Australia from Weipa and Aurukun in the north to Bega, New South Wales, Bega in the south, and most inland at Atherton, Queensland, Atherton and Too ...
(''Macropygia phasianella''), rose-crowned fruit dove
The rose-crowned fruit dove (''Ptilinopus regina''), also known as pink-capped fruit dove or Swainson's fruit dove, is a medium-sized, up to 22 cm long, green fruit dove with a grey head and breast, an orange belly, whitish throat, yellow-or ...
(''Ptilinopus regina''), wompoo fruit dove
The wompoo fruit dove (''Ptilinopus magnificus''), also known as wompoo pigeon, is one of the larger fruit doves native to New Guinea and eastern Australia.
Taxonomy and systematics
Subspecies
There are generally 7-8 recognised subspecies, ...
(''P. magnificus''), wonga pigeon
The wonga pigeon (''Leucosarcia melanoleuca'') is a pigeon that inhabits areas in eastern Australia with its range being from Central Queensland to Gippsland, eastern Victoria, Australia.
Distribution and habitat
Previously they could be found ...
(''Leucosarcia melanoleuca''), topknot pigeon
The topknot pigeon (''Lopholaimus antarcticus'') is a pigeon native to eastern Australia.
Taxonomy
English naturalist George Shaw described the topknot pigeon as ''Columba antarctica'' in 1793.
The topknot pigeon is sister taxon to a lineage th ...
(''Lopholaimus antarcticus''), silvereye
The silvereye or wax-eye (''Zosterops lateralis'') is a very small omnivorous passerine bird of the south-west Pacific. In Australia and New Zealand its common name is sometimes white-eye, but this name is more commonly used to refer to all membe ...
(''Zosterops lateralis''), pied currawong
The pied currawong (''Strepera graculina'') is a black passerine bird native to eastern Australia and Lord Howe Island. One of three currawong species in the genus ''Strepera'', it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian magpie of ...
(''Strepera graculina''), black-faced cuckoo-shrike
The black-faced cuckooshrike (''Coracina novaehollandiae'') is a common omnivorous passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. It has a protected status in Australia, under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974.
They are wid ...
(''Coracina novaehollandae''), olive-backed oriole
The olive-backed oriole (''Oriolus sagittatus''), or white-bellied oriole, is a very common medium-sized passerine bird native to northern and eastern Australia and south-central New Guinea. The most wide-ranging of the Australasian orioles, it ...
(''Oriolus sagittatus''), Australasian figbird
The Australasian figbird (''Sphecotheres vieilloti''), also known as the green figbird (not to be confused with the Timor figbird), is a conspicuous, medium-sized passerine bird native to a wide range of wooded habitats in northern and eastern ...
(''Sphecotheres vieilloti''), green catbird
The green catbird (''Ailuroedus crassirostris'') is a species of bowerbird found in subtropical forests along the east coast of Australia, from southeastern Queensland to southern New South Wales. It is named after its distinctive call which soun ...
(''Ailuroedus crassirostris''), regent bowerbird
The regent bowerbird (''Sericulus chrysocephalus'') is a medium-sized, up to 25 cm long, sexually dimorphic bowerbird. The male bird is black with a golden orange-yellow crown, mantle and black-tipped wing feathers. It has yellow Beak, bill, ...
(''Sericulus chrysocephalus''), satin bowerbird
The satin bowerbird (''Ptilonorhynchus violaceus'') is a bowerbird endemic to eastern Australia.
A rare natural hybrid (biology), intergeneric hybrid between the satin bowerbird and the regent bowerbird is known as Rawnsley's bowerbird.
Descrip ...
(''Ptilonorhynchus violaceus''), and Lewin's honeyeater
Lewin's honeyeater (''Meliphaga lewinii'') is a bird that inhabits the ranges along the east coast of Australia. It has a semicircular ear-patch, pale yellow in colour.
The name of this bird commemorates the Australian artist John Lewin.
Descri ...
(''Meliphaga lewinii''). The tree is an important food source for the western Polynesian species the many-colored fruit dove
The many-colored fruit dove (''Ptilinopus perousii''), also known as ''manuma'' in the Samoan language, is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It occurs on islands in the south-west Pacific Ocean where it is found in Fiji, the Samoan Isla ...
(''Ptilinopus perousii'') and crimson-crowned fruit dove
The crimson-crowned fruit dove (''Ptilinopus porphyraceus'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in American Samoa, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, and Wallis and Futuna Islands. Its natural habitats are subtrop ...
(''P. porphyraceus''), and has been recommended for amenity planting in Tonga for these birds. The spectacled flying fox
The spectacled flying fox (''Pteropus conspicillatus''), also known as the spectacled fruit bat, is a megabat that lives in Australia's north-eastern regions of Queensland. It is also found in New Guinea and on the offshore islands including Wood ...
(''Pteropus conspicillatus'') and 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 ...
(''Pteropus poliocephalus'') also eat the fruit.[
Leaves of ''Ficus obliqua'' serve as a food source for the larvae of the ]butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
species the common crow (''Euploea core
File:Euploea core at thachangad.jpg
''Euploea core'', the common crow, is a common butterfly found in South Asia to Australia. In India it is also sometimes referred to as the common Indian crow, and in Australia as the Australian crow. It belon ...
''), the no-brand crow (''Euploea alcathoe
''Euploea alcathoe'', commonly known as the no-brand crow, Eichhorn's crow or striped black crow, is a common butterfly found from India to Borneo, and in the Moluccas, New Guinea and Australia. It belongs to the crows and tigers subfamily of th ...
''), and the Geometer moth
The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''geo'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''metr ...
species ''Scopula epigypsa
''Scopula epigypsa'' is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was described by Edward Meyrick in 1886. It is endemic to Fiji.
The larvae feed on ''Ficus obliqua
''Ficus obliqua'', commonly known as the small-leaved fig, is a tree in the fami ...
''. The thrips
Thrips ( order Thysanoptera) are minute (mostly long or less), slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Different thrips species feed mostly on plants by puncturing and sucking up the contents, although a few are ...
species ''Gynaikothrips australis
''Gynaikothrips'' is a genus of tube-tailed thrips in the family Phlaeothripidae. There are more than 30 described species in ''Gynaikothrips''.
Species
These 35 species belong to the genus ''Gynaikothrips'':
* ''Gynaikothrips additamentus'' Ka ...
'' feeds on the underside of new leaves of ''F. obliqua'', as well as ''F. rubiginosa'' and ''F. macrophylla''. As plant cells die, nearby cells are induced into forming meristem
The meristem is a type of tissue found in plants. It consists of undifferentiated cells (meristematic cells) capable of cell division. Cells in the meristem can develop into all the other tissues and organs that occur in plants. These cells conti ...
tissue. A 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, fungi, or animals. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to be ...
results and the leaves become distorted and curl over. The thrips remain in the galls at night and wander about in the daytime before returning in the evening, possibly to different galls about the tree. The thrips begin feeding when the tree has flushes of new growth, and the life cycle is around six weeks. At other times, thrips reside on old leaves without feeding or pupate sheltered in the bark.
Reproduction and life span
Figs have an obligate mutualism with fig wasp
Fig wasps are wasps of the superfamily Chalcidoidea which spend their larval stage inside figs. Most are pollinators but others simply feed off the plant. The non-pollinators belong to several groups within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, while th ...
s (Agaonidae); figs are only pollinated by fig wasps, and fig wasps can only reproduce in fig flowers. Generally, each fig species depends on a single species of wasp for pollination. The wasps are similarly dependent on their fig species to reproduce. The assumption that fig species are usually pollinated by just one species of fig wasp has been challenged by the discovery of cryptic species complex
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
es among what was previously thought to be single species of fig wasps. ''Ficus obliqua'' is pollinated by two species of fig wasp—'' Pleistodontes greenwoodi'' and '' P. xanthocephalus''.[
Female and male flowers in each syconium mature at different times. Female wasps enter the syconium and lay eggs in the female flowers as they mature. These eggs later hatch and the progeny mate. The females of the new generation collect pollen from the male flowers, which have matured by this point, and leave to visit other syconia and repeat the process. A field study in ]Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
found that ''F. obliqua'' trees often bore both male and female syconia at the same time—this could be beneficial for reproduction in isolated populations, such as those on islands. The same study found a slightly reduced number of male phase syconia in winter, thought due to increased mortality of the wasp pollinator in cooler months.[
The animals that eat the figs disperse the seeds, which then germinate and grow on other plants (]epiphyte
An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...
s) or on rocks (lithophyte
Lithophytes are plants that grow in or on rocks. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are also ...
s). As the new plants develop, they send roots to the forest floor. Figs growing on other plants grow larger and larger until they strangle
Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and is one of two main ways that hanging ...
their hosts. ''Ficus obliqua'' is long-lived, and trees are thought to live in excess of 500 years.[
]
Uses
''Ficus obliqua'' is an elegant shade tree for parks or fields, and is adaptable to differing soils.[ A notable specimen in Mick Ryan Park, ]Milton
Milton may refer to:
Names
* Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname)
** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet
* Milton (given name)
** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...
on the New South Wales south coast stands tall and across, and is a local landmark. Like other fig species that grow into large trees, ''Ficus obliqua'' is not suitable for any but the largest gardens as its aggressive root system invades drains and garden beds. Fig trees also drop large quantities of fruit and leaves, leaving a mess underfoot.[ Although it is much less used in ]bonsai
Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of ''penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produce ...
than ''F. rubiginosa'', ''F. obliqua'' is well-suited for use in the medium; its small leaves and trunk's propensity to thicken give it attributes optimal for a tree in height. It is seen in bonsai nurseries mainly in the Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
area, where it is a locally common species, and is very highly regarded by at least one proponent, Bradley Barlow. Barlow entered a specimen from Brisbane to the Bonsai Clubs International competition in 2006, winning a prize. It is also suited for use as an indoor plant in low-, medium- or brightly lit indoor spaces. The timber is too soft for use in woodworking.[
Known as ''baka'' or ''baka ni viti'' in ]Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
, ''Ficus obliqua'' has many of its parts used in Fijian traditional medicine, and was previously held to be sacred there. Its white sap has been used for painful or swollen joints and limbs or boils, or diluted with water and drunk to improve breast milk. Liquid extracted from the root bark has been used for headaches or, when diluted, to improve health after childbirth, and the leaves are applied to venereal
Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) ...
lesion
A lesion is any damage or abnormal change in the tissue of an organism, usually caused by disease or trauma. ''Lesion'' is derived from the Latin "injury". Lesions may occur in plants as well as animals.
Types
There is no designated classifi ...
s. The species has been traditionally used for boil
A boil, also called a furuncle, is a deep folliculitis, which is an infection of the hair follicle. It is most commonly caused by infection by the bacterium ''Staphylococcus aureus'', resulting in a painful swollen area on the skin caused by an ...
s in Samoa and Tonga.
References
{{Featured article
obliqua
Flora of New South Wales
Flora of Queensland
Garden plants of Australia
Ornamental trees
Plants described in 1786
Plants used in bonsai
Rosales of Australia
Trees of Australia
Trees of Malesia
Trees of Papuasia
Flora of the Southwestern Pacific