Ficus polita
Specimen in Pretoria, South Africa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Moraceae
Genus: Ficus
Species:
F. polita
Binomial name
Ficus polita
Vahl, 1805

Ficus polita, the heart-leaved fig, is a species of fig that is native to forests of tropical Africa,

Distribution

The tree is found in Lowland rainforest and gallery forest (west and central Africa), coastal & dry forest (east and southern African coast), and on Madagascar. It grows up to elevations of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft).[1]

Description

Ficus polita is similar to the Pondoland fig, (Ficus bizanae), an endemic tropical forest species in South Africa. The leaves have entire margins and are often heart-shaped, with the tip acuminate.[2]

The figs are borne on old wood, in small clusters on stumpy branchlets.[2]

The pollinating wasp is Courtella bekiliensis bekiliensis (Risbec) in Madagascar, and Courtella bekiliensis bispinosa (Wiebes) on the African mainland.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 van Noort, Simon; Rasplus, Jean-Yves. "Ficus polita polita Vahl 1805". Figweb. Iziko Museums. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 Palmer, Eve (1977). A Field Guide to the Trees of Southern Africa. London, Johannesburg: Collins. p. 89. ISBN 0-620-05468-9.
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