BY THE REV. J. E. TENISON-WOODS. 17 



base. This is the largest and most characteristic section. In no 

 other is the tendency to be epiphytal at all strongly marked ; in 

 Urostigma it is universal. Many species in other sections are 

 scandent and support themselves on trees and rocks by throwing 

 out rootlets from their stems and branches. But these rootlets 

 are furnished with fibrillse and collecting-hairs like the roots that 

 penetrate the soil, and are very different in appearance from the 

 strong sub-divisions of the main axis by which the epiphyte 

 embraces and ultimately strangles the tree to which it attaches 

 itself. One constantly meets in the jungle fig-trees of this section, 

 the stem of which is a perfect lattice of sub-divisions, the tree 

 round which they were formed having entirely disappeared. (3) 

 Synoacia : climbers with large coloured receptacles, the leaves 

 tesselate beneath . (4) Sycidium : shrubs, small trees, or climbers ; 

 rarely epiphytal ; leaves alternate ; receptacles small, axillary and 

 more or less scabrid. (5) Covellia: shrubs or trees; never 

 epiphytes or climbers ; receptacles on long sub-aphyllous branches 

 issuing from near the base of the stem, often sub-hypogseal or on 

 shortened tubercles from the stem and larger branches, or axillary. 

 (6) Eusyce : scandent or erect shrubs or small trees ; rarely 

 epiphytal, leaves alternate, softly hairy, not scabrid or hispid ; 

 receptacles usually small, axillary. (7) Neomorphe : trees rarely 

 scandent, never epiphytal : receptacles often very large, in 

 fascicles from tubercles on the trunk and larger branches. 



Ficus hispida, L., is one of the commonest species throughout 

 tropical Asia and extends to North Australia and Hong Kong. 

 It is also very variable, the variability being due in a great 

 measure to the different situations in which it grows. This 

 species bears the receptacles in pairs in the axils of the leaves, or 

 in clusters on the trunk, and sometimes they appear in both 

 positions on the same tree at the same time. The fruit from the 

 trunk sometimes burrows in the ground. Other species have 

 dimorphic receptacles, but this dimorphism bears no relation to 

 the separation of the sexes. 



Other large genera are Celtis, Artocarpus, Filea, Pouzolzia. 

 2 



