''Ficus superba'', also known as sea fig or deciduous fig, is a hemiepiphytic tree of 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 ...

''. It is one of the species known as

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 ...

s or "strangler figs" because of its potential to grow as a

hemi-epiphyte A hemiepiphyte is a plant that spends part of its life cycle as an epiphyte. The seeds of primary hemiepiphytes germinate in the canopy and initially live epiphytically. They send roots downward, and these roots eventually make contact with t ...

and eventually progress to the strangling habit of species in this subgenus. It is, however, not an obligate hemi-epiphyte and can be found growing as single stemmed trees in forests. It is found in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

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

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, as well as various parts of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, such as

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

Kalimantan Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo. In 2019, ...

, the

Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands or nowadays known as Nusa Tenggara Islands ( id, Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, formerly ) are an archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up t ...

Moluccas The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located eas ...

Seram Island Seram (formerly spelled Ceram; also Seran or Serang) is the largest and main island of Maluku province of Indonesia, despite Ambon Island's historical importance. It is located just north of the smaller Ambon Island and a few other adjacent is ...

, and

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

Varieties and synonyms

The variety ''

Ficus superba var. henneana ''Ficus henneana'' is a strangler fig only occurring in Australia. Previously considered a variety of ''Ficus superba'' which occurs in China, Japan and parts of South East Asia. The cedar fig or deciduous fig grows in Australia from Milton, New ...

'' grows in

where it may reach 35 metres tall. Other varieties have now been reclassified as synonyms: * ''F. superba'' var. ''alongensis'' (Gagnep.) Corner is a synonym of ''

Ficus alongensis ''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 i ...

'' Gagnep. * ''F. superba'' var. ''japonica'' Miq. is a synonym of ''

Ficus subpisocarpa ''Ficus subpisocarpa'' (called 笔管榕 in China and 雀榕 in Taiwan) is a species of small deciduous tree native to Japan, China, Taiwan and southeast Asia to the Moluccas (Ceram). Two subspecies are recognised. Terrestrial or hemiepiphytic, i ...

'' Gagnep.The ''Plant List'' (retrieved 17 January 2020)
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Gallery

File:雀榕 Ficus superba var. japonica 20210717091156 01.jpg, New buds. File:雀榕 Ficus superba var. japonica 20210717091156 03.jpg, New bud with bud scales. File:雀榕 Ficus superba var. japonica 20210717091156 07.jpg, The leaves turn golden before falling. File:雀榕 Ficus superba var. japonica 20210717091156 25.jpg, The leaves fall 2 to 4 times a year. It only takes about 2 weeks to grow new leaves after deciduous leaves. File:雀榕 Ficus superba var. japonica 20200912073054 01.jpg, Immatured syconus. It is red when mature. File:雀榕 Ficus superba var. japonica 20200912073054 02.jpg, The syconus grow densely. It's the food that the birds like. File:雀榕 Ficus superba var. japonica 20210717091156 12.jpg, Tree trunk and aerial roots. File:雀榕 Ficus superba var. japonica 20210717091156 24.jpg, Tree trunk and aerial roots.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5446647 superba Trees of China Trees of Japan Flora of tropical Asia Trees of Australia Epiphytes Taxa named by Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel