How to Look at Figs. Species name: Growth habit: tree or shrub or climbing vine Stems: Pith hollow or pith solid Young twigs: hairy or hairless

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1 How to Look at Figs Species name: Growth habit: tree or shrub or climbing vine Stems: Pith hollow or pith solid Young twigs: hairy or hairless Roots: aerial roots present buttress roots present Leaves Leaf blade shape: or draw shape: Leaf margin: lobed or entire (smooth margins) Leaf tips: long and tapering (acute, with a drip tip) or blunt (obtuse) Leaf base: tapering to petiole or truncate symmetrical or asymmetrical Stipules: stipule or terminal bud length: stipules fused into 1 or two stipules per node Leaf venation: 1 main vein or several veins from the base side veins few or side veins many Venation angle: parallel or acute or obtuse Leaf hairs: leaves hairless (glabrous) or covered with fine hairs Leaf hair color: golden white yellow other: Figs cauliflorous figs present on woody stems or found in axils of leaves figs single or paired sessile or stalked Fig diameter: Fig color: Fig hairs: leaves hairless (glabrous) or covered with fine hairs Fig hair color: golden white yellow other: Fig surface: smooth hairy (pubescent) ribbed flecks of white bracts present on body or base of figs Fig internal surface: size: color: Other Notable Features:

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3 Characteristics and Taxonomy of Ficus Family: Moraceae Genus Ficus = ~850 species Original publication: Linnaeus, Species Plantarum 2: Subgenera and examples of commonly grown species: Subgenus Ficus (~350 species) Africa, Asia, Australasia, Mediterranean Mostly gynodioecious, no bracts among the flowers, free standing trees and shrubs, cauliflorous or not, pollination passive Ficus carica L. common fig Ficus deltoidea Jack mistletoe fig Subgenus Sycidium (~100 species) Africa, Asia, Australasia Mostly gynodioecious, no bracts among the flowers, free standing trees and shrubs, cauliflorous or not, pollination passive Ficus coronata Spin - creek sandpaper fig Ficus fraseri Miq. - shiny sandpaper fig Ficus montana Burm.f. oakleaf fig Ficus opposita Miq. sweet sandpaper fig Ficus tinctoria G.Forst. dye fig Subgenus Sycomorus (~15 species) Africa Mostly gynodioecious, no bracts among the flowers, free standing trees and shrubs, cauliflorous or not, pollination passive Ficus auriculata Lour. Roxburgh fig Ficus dammaropsis Diels highland breadfruit, kapiak Ficus racemosa L. cluster fig Ficus pumila L. creeping fig Subgenus Urostigma (~250 species) Americas, Africa, Asia, Australasia, Mediterranean Monoecious, bracts among the flowers, hemiepiphyte habit, rarely cauliflorous, pollination active Ficus aurea Nutt. - Florida strangler fig Ficus benghalensis L. Indian banyan Ficus benjamina L. weeping fig Ficus citrifolia Mill. short-leaved fig Ficus elastica Hornem. - Indian rubber plant Ficus lyrata Warb. fiddle-leaved fig Ficus maclellandii King Alii fig Ficus macrophylla Desf. ex Pers. Moreton Bay fig Ficus microcarpa L. Indian laurel fig Ficus petiolaris Kunth Ficus religiosa L. sacred fig Ficus rubiginosa Desf. rusty leaf fig Ficus sycomorus Miq. sycamore fig Ficus virens Aiton white fig Ficus watkinsiana F.M.Bailey Watkins's fig

4 The classification and distribution of Ficus L. according to Corner (1965) and summarized by Berg (1989). The arrangement of sections within subgenera is alphabetical. CORNER, E. J. H Check-list of Ficus in Asia and Australasia with keys to identification. Gardens Bulletin Singapore 21: BERG, C. C Classification and distribution of Ficus. Experientia 45:

5 Key to California s Commonly Cultivated Fig Trees 1. Plant a climbing vine, often on walls Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila) 1 Plant a tree or large shrub, usually free standing 2. Young stems hollow, with little or no pith Roxburgh Fig (Ficus auriculata) 2 Young stems with a solid pith 3. Leaves 3- to 5-lobed, deciduous, with 3 main veins from the leaf base Edible Fig (Ficus carica) 3 Leaves not lobed, evergreen, with 1 main vein 4. Mature expanded leaves 4.5 inches wide or wider, two stipules (sheaths) covering terminal bud united and falling as a single unit, stipules variously colored but often reddish Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica) 4 Mature expanded leaves less than 4 inches wide, two stipule sheathes falling separately 5. Leaves covered with fine rust-colored hairs (at least when young) 6. Mature trees with large buttress roots; leaves 2.5 to 4 inches wide, figs 3/4 to 1 inch wide Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla) 6 Mature trees without large buttress roots, leaves 1.5 to 2.5 inches wide, figs 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide Rusty Leaf Fig (Ficus rubiginosa) 5 Leaves hairless 7. Leaf blade edge flat, tip pointed but without a long tip; veins conspicuous, usually <10 pairs of lateral veins; figs turning purple or blackish Indian Laurel Fig (Ficus microcarpa) 7 Leaf blade edge wavy, tip long and tapering; veins inconspicuous, numerous; figs turning orange to yellow or red Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina) Other figs grown as houseplants or occasionally outdoors in California See Key to California s Occasionally Cultivated Figs by Don Hodel on backside Rock Fig (Ficus petiolaris) Sycamore Fig (Ficus sycomorus) Alli Fig (Ficus maclellandii) Fiddle-leaf Fig (Ficus lyrata) Peepul Tree (Ficus religiosa) Mysore Fig (Ficus drupacea) Indian Banyan (Ficus benghalensis) Highland Breadfruit (Ficus dammaropsis) Giant Leaved Fig (Ficus lutea) Watkins' Fig (Ficus watkinsiana)

6 Key to California s Occasionally Cultivated Figs by Don Hodel 1. Leaf blades fiddle-shaped Fiddle-leaf Fig (Ficus lyrata) 1 Leaf blades not fiddle-shaped 2. Leaf blades with a long (longer than the leaf is wide) tip at the apex Peepul Tree (Ficus religiosa) 2 Leaf blades without a long tip 3. Leaf blades heart-shaped, veins pinkish Rock Fig (Ficus petiolaris) 3 Leaf blades not heart-shaped, veins not pinkish 4. Leaf blades large, inches long; figs covered with large, conspicuous bracts Highland Breadfruit (Ficus dammaropsis) 4 Leaf blades smaller, less than 15 inches long; figs not covered with conspicuous bracts 5. Leaf blades with small teeth, especially toward apex; figs tomato-shaped Roxburgh s Fig (Ficus auriculata) 5 Leaf blades not toothed; figs variously shaped 6. Leaf blades with 8 or fewer pairs of lateral veins 7. Bark yellowish; figs borne on short, leafless stems from trunk and main branches Sycamore Fig (Ficus sycomorus) 7 Bark gray or tan; figs borne in leaf axils 8. Leaf blades broadest from mid-blade toward apex, with 6-8 pairs of lateral veins, these and midrib prominent, typically yellowish or cream colored Giant Leaved Fig (Ficus lutea) 8 Leaf blades broadest near base, with 5-6 pairs of lateral veins, these and midrib whitish Indian Banyan (Ficus benghalensis) 6 Leaf blades with 9 or more pairs of lateral veins 9. Stipules inches long; figs with prominent nipple at apex Watkin s Fig (Ficus watkinsiana) 9 Stipules inch long; wigs without prominent nipple at apex 10. Leaf blades spearhead-shaped; stipules 0.4 inch long; figs globose, 0.3 inch long Alii Fig (Ficus maclellandii) 10 Leaf blades egg-shaped; stipules 0.8 inch long; figs ellipsoid, inches long Mysore Fig (Ficus drupacea)