Everything about Ficus Macrophylla totally explained
The
Moreton Bay Fig (
Ficus macrophylla) is a large evergreen
banyan. Named after
Moreton Bay in
Queensland,
Australia, it's a native of most of the eastern coast, from the
Atherton Tableland in the north to the
Illawarra in
New South Wales.
Description
The Moreton Bay Fig grows to over 60 m (200 ft) tall in its native environment. It has large, elliptic, leathery, dark green leaves and produces a [barely] edible fruit similar to the common
Fig,
Ficus carica.
The characteristic "melting" appearance of the Moreton Bay fig is due to its habit of dropping
aerial roots from its branches which on reaching the ground thicken into supplementary trunks which help to support the great weight of its crown.
It is a rainforest plant and in this environment more often grows in the form of an
epiphytic strangler vine than that of a tree. When its seeds land in the branch of a host tree it sends aerial, 'strangler' roots down the host trunk, eventually killing the host and standing alone.
Its roots are surface feeding and it's therefore quite susceptible to the compacting of earth around its trunk, which is why in many parks and gardens these trees are fenced off. It is water hungry and like many Australian trees shouldn't be planted in urban environments where its roots may damage piping, nor in areas where water is scarce.
A potentially invasive species
Ficus macrophylla is commonly cultivated in
Hawaii and in northern
New Zealand. In both places, it has now naturalised, having acquired its pollinating wasp (
Pleistodontes froggatti). In Hawaii the wasp was deliberately introduced in 1921, and in New Zealand it was first recorded in 1993, having apparently arrived by long-distance dispersal from Australia. The arrival of the wasp led to prolific production of fruits containing many small seeds adapted for dispersal by birds. The Moreton Bay Fig has been found growing on both native and introduced trees in New Zealand and in Hawaii. The size and vigour of this fig in New Zealand, and its lack of natural enemies, as well as its immunity to
possum browsing, indicate that it may be able to invade forest and other native plant communities. (Gardner and Early 1996; Starr et al., 2003).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Ficus Macrophylla'.
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