''Ficus nymphaeifolia'' is a strangler fig found in central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

. Growing up to 35 metres tall, the habitat is coastal plains, savannah and rainforest. This plant first appeared in scientific literature in 1768. Published in

The Gardeners Dictionary ''The Gardeners Dictionary'' was a widely cited reference series, written by Philip Miller (1691–1771), which tended to focus on plants cultivated in England. Eight editions of the series were published in his lifetime. After his death, it was ...

by the English botanist,

Philip Miller Philip Miller FRS (1691 – 18 December 1771) was an English botanist and gardener of Scottish descent. Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden for nearly 50 years from 1722, and wrote the highly popular ''The Gardeners Dicti ...

from specimens collected in the Caribbean.

Latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...

from the plant may be used in the form of a plaster, to treat sprains and fractures and cuts to the body, to offer relief from pain and to protect a wound from infection.

References

nymphaeifolia Trees of South America Flora of Central America Flora of the Caribbean Moraceae Plants described in 1768 Taxa named by Philip Miller Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Moraceae-stub