FICUS 



FICUS 



1233 



20. villosa, Blume. A straggling shrub, the whole 

 plant brown-hairy: Ivs. thick and leathery, petioled, 

 oblong-ovate, sharply acuminate, the base cordate, 

 3-5-nerved at the base, the primary lateral nerves 5-6 

 pairs, 5-6 in. long: fr. short-stalked, in axillary clusters. 

 Malaya. K. 172. A good stove climber, but little 

 known in Amer. 



21. Palmeri, Wats. Tree, 8-12 ft. high, branching 

 near the ground: Ivs. 3 in. long, 2-23/2 m - wide; petiole 

 1 in. long: fr. in pairs, axillary, globose, J/in. thick, 

 white, according to Franceschi needing much heat to 

 develop. Discovered on San Pedro Martin IsL, N. W. 

 Mex., 1887. Perhaps the best adapted to severely hot 

 and dry places. Franceschi says it attains 30 ft. 



22. infectdria, Roxbg. A low tree, all the parts 

 smooth; often deciduous for some weeks at a time: 

 Ivs. 33^5 in. long; nerves 5-7 pairs, not prominent: 

 fr. in axillary pairs, sessile, globose, %'m. thick, whitish, 

 flushed and dotted. Trop. Asia, Malaya. K. 76-79. 

 Grows 60 ft. high, and is one of the best shade trees. 



23. Cunninghamii, Miq. A large 

 tree, resembling F. infectoria and 

 differing only in the form and acumi- 

 nation of the If. from that species: 

 in F. infectoria the primary lateral 

 nerves are easily detected; in F. 

 Cunninghamii they are fine and so 

 much intermingled as to be almost 

 indistinguishable. Austral. Recom- 

 mended as a shade tree for extreme 

 S. Fla. by Rea- 

 soner Bros. Cult. 

 in temperate 

 house north- 

 ward. Decidu- 

 ous for several 

 months each 

 year. 



24.R6xburghii, 



Wall. A low tree, 

 10-20 ft.: Ivs. 

 broadly-ovate or 

 rounded, 5-15 in. long, 

 4J^-12 in. broad, some- 

 times cordate at the 

 base; primary lateral 

 nerves 5-7 pairs, promi- 

 nent on both sides :fr. 2 in. diam. 

 on short leafless cauline branch- 

 lets, reddish. India. K. 211. 

 The Ivs. are frequently almost 

 orbicular; very ornamental. 



25. glomerata, Roxbg. CLUSTER FIG. Lvs. 4-7 in. 

 long; nerves 46 pairs: fr. clustered on leafless, scaly 

 branches, pear- or top-shaped, 1J^ in. thick, reddish. 

 India, Burma. K. 218, 219. "A quick-growing, ever- 

 green shade tree." Reasoner. "A dense shade tree: 

 Ivs. have a peculiar metallic luster and are deciduous 

 for a short time at the end of winter: small frs., much 

 relished by cattle and children but dry and woody." 

 Franceschi. 



26. rubigindsa, Desf. (F. australis, Wllld.). Lvs. 

 leathery, rounded or cordate at base, notched at tip: fr. 

 mostly in pairs, globular, 5-6 lines thick, usually warty. 

 Austral., where it throws out aerial roots like the 

 banyan tree. B.M. 2939. The rusty color is a beauti- 

 ful feature. Voss considers this a form of F. elastica. 



27. Bellingeri, C. Moore. Tall glabrous tree: Ivs. 

 ovate, sharp-pointed, leathery, 5-6 in. long, dark green 

 and shining above, light green and paler underneath; 

 petioles 2-3 in. long: fr. !%-!% in. diam., marked with 

 small scattered warts. New S. Wales. According to 

 Franceschi it grows faster than F. rubiginosa, its near- 

 est relative. Rare in cult., but advertised in 1914. 



79 



1504. Ficus 



Benjamina var. 

 comosa. 



28. altissima, Blume. A tall tree with only a few 

 aerial roots, when mature wholly glabrous: Ivs. petio- 

 late, thick and leathery, broadly ovate, sometimes 

 inequilateral, but not cordate, shining, 3-5-nerved and 

 with 5-6 pairs of lateral primary nerves, 4-7 in. long: 

 fr. axillary, sessile, in pairs, yellowish when ripe. India. 

 K. 30, 30a. Said by an American dealer to resemble 

 F. pandurata, but this must be an error. Franceschi 

 says it is taller-growing and finer than F. elastica. 



29. retfisa, Linn. (F. nitida, Thunb., and Hort., not 

 Blume). Lvs. 2-4 in. long; nerves 5 or 6 pairs; petiole 

 3-6 lines long: fr. sessile, in pairs, axillary, 4 lines thick, 

 yellow or reddish. Trop. Asia, Malaya. K. 61, 62. 

 A large evergreen tree with a few aerial roots. 



30. aftrea, Nutt. Branches pale, smooth, furrowed: 

 Ivs. 3-4 in. long, smooth, oblong, entire, narrowed but 

 obtuse at each end, stout-petioled : fr. orange-yellow, 

 globose, 4 lines thick. S. Fla. Reasoner . say s it is a 

 handsome decorative plant for the florist, and that it 

 grows 60 ft. high. Chapman describes it as a small 

 tree; he says nothing about stipules. Too tender for 

 outdoor cult, in S. Calif . 



31. indica, Linn. Not the banyan tree. Glabrous 

 throughout, except stipules: Ivs. 4-7 in. long; nerves 

 about 4r-6 pairs, not very prominent; petiole 4-12 lines 

 long; stipules 6-9 lines long: fr. in crowded pairs, ses- 

 sile, globose, smooth, yellowish red, 4 lines thick. Trop. 

 Asia, Malaya. K. 45. This species is greatly confused 

 in botanical literature with F. benghalensis, but F. 

 indica does not take root from its branches, as does the 

 banyan tree. In recent writings, F. indica is often given 

 as a synonym of F. benghalensis, but the distinctions 

 here given are those made by King, in Flora Brit. 

 India 5:499 (1890). Tree grows 50 ft. high. 



32. benghalensis, Linn. BANYAN TREE. Also written 

 bengalensis. Young parts softly pubescent: nerves 

 prominent; petiole 6-18 lines long; stipules 9-12 lines 

 long: fr. in pairs, sessile, globose, puberulous, red, 

 about the size of a small cherry. Trop. Air., India. 

 A tree, 70-100 ft. high, rooting from the branches, thus 

 forming accessory trunks and extending the growth of 

 the tree indefinitely. For an explanation of the confu- 

 sion between F. benghalensis and F. indica, see Hooker's 

 Flora Brit. India 5:499, 500. K. 13. There are vigor- 

 ous specimens growing outdoors at Miami, Fla. 



F. Afzelii, Don, is a plant from S. Afr., never described by Don. 

 The plant in the trade is said to be F. eriobotroides. Once adver- 

 tised for indoor ornament. F. carndsa, Hort. Advertised 1895 for 

 indoors. F. Chauvierii, Hort. In Eu. this is said to be second only 

 to F. elastica. Franceschi says it has broader and more oval Ivs., 

 large red figs, not edible, and comes from New Caledonia, where it 

 attains 60 ft. J. D. Eisele says that it has oval Ivs. with creamy 

 white veins, is strong-growing, and "should be valuable for sub- 

 tropical gardening.' The name is unknown in botanical literature. 

 A plant cult, at N. Y. Bot. Card, as this species has orange fr. F. 

 Codperi, Hort., is cult, indoors from Trop. Amer. Advertised 1895. 

 The name is unknown in botanical literature. G. 1:757. F. 

 Dryepondtia, Hort., is a striking shrub with long-stalked Ivs. that 

 are silvery green above and dark purple beneath. Probably not a 

 Ficus. R. B. 32, p. 85. Said to be a native of Afr. F. eetveldiana, 

 Hort., is a species "with large broadly oval Ivs. and with the veins 

 and nerves colored," something as in Caladium. The name is 

 unknown in botanical literature. G.C. III. 28:303. F. eriobotroi- 

 des, Kunth & Bouchg. Habitat unknown. See F. Afzelii. F. fal- 

 c&ta, Miq., is cult, but not advertised. A creeper, with Ivs. often 

 of 2 forms, leathery, tesselately dotted and colored beneath. It is 

 a form of F. punctata, with Ivs. oblong or subrhomboid, obtuse, 

 not tapering below. India. F. Lucidnii, Hort., "has large Ivs." 

 Intro. 1900. Otherwise unknown. F. liicida, Dry. From India, 

 but not described in Flora of British India. Advertised 1893 for 

 indoors. F. maculata. Linn., described by Franceschi (1914) as 

 with Ivs. "large, oval, light green, not glossy. Cochin-China." 

 must be some other plant than the true F. maculata, which is a 

 serrate-lvd. fig from Santo Domingo. F. nemoralis, Wall., is a 

 "small tree or bush" with smooth, petioled Ivs. which are 3-nerved 

 and dark-colored beneath: fr. smooth axillary, about Min. diam. 

 India. K. 206, 207. There are many forms. F. princeps, Kunth 

 & Bouch6. Brazil. Cult, by Franceschi, who says it grows 60 ft. 

 high and has magnificent foliage, which is bronze and copper-col- 

 ored when young. F. pyrifdlia may be F. Benjamina, F. erecta, 

 F. Fontanesii, or F. rubra. The name is advertised by Yokohama 

 Nursery Co., who also advertise F. erecta. F. rugdsa is a trade 

 name for some fig as yet undeterminable. The true F. rugosa, 

 Don, is perhaps a Trop. African species, but was not character- 

 ized by Don, and the status of the name is uncertain. F. Syco- 



