1748 



A TEXTBOOK OF THEORETICAL BOTANY 



Fig. 1626. — FicHs cnrica. The Fig. Branch with fruits. 



Ficiis repens is one of a number of climbing Figs, and supports itself 

 by the aid of its adventitious roots in the same way as Ivy. These roots 

 secrete a gummy substance containing caoutchouc and then absorb the 

 fluid constituent, leaving the root firmly cemented to the support. 



Ficiis henjamina like certain other climbing Figs produces great clasping 

 roots which are negatively phototropic and grow around the trunk of the 

 support. These roots thicken and form a network which finally strangles 

 the host. The roots may also form a trellis work over rocks and the same 

 species may occur either as an epiphyte or as an independent tree. 



In addition to providing raw material for the manufacture of rubber, 

 certain species of Ficus produce Shellac by the punctures of a small hemip- 

 terous insect. The buttress roots are used by natives as planks for various 

 purposes. 



Numerous fossil leaves have been referred to the genus Ficiis, and 

 although some of these may really belong to other genera it seems certain 

 that the genus extended to Greenland during Cretaceous times and was 

 widely distributed in North America and Europe in the Tertiary period 

 up to Miocene times. 



Another important genus of this family is Artocarpiis, with sixty species. 

 Three species are cultivated mainly for their fruits. A. incisa, the Bread- 

 fruit (Fig. 1627), is a tree of particular importance in Polynesia where it 

 grows to a height of about 50 ft. It has large, pinnatifid leaves, the male 

 and female flowers being developed in separate inflorescences. The ripe 

 fruit is yellow in colour, and 4 to 8 in. across, round or oval in shape. There 

 are two forms of Breadfruit. In one the fruit is almost seedless, while the 

 other contains many large seeds. The fruit is a pseudocarp, the flesh being 

 formed from the axis of the inflorescence. The seedless variety is propa- 

 gated from root cuttings. Analysis of the fruits shows a wide variation in 



