FICUS 



FICUS 



1231 



L. Ft, globose and stalked . . 16. brevi- 

 LL. Fr. if stalked, pear-shaped, [folia 



often nearly se.<isile 17. erecta 



II. Primary lateral nerves less 

 than S pairs. 

 J. The primary veins di-s- 



tinctly bifurcating 18. diversi- 



jj. The primary veins not bi- [folia 



fureating 

 K. Stipular sheaths large and 



showy, rosy 19. macro- 



KK. Stipular sheaths not large [phylla 



and showy. 

 L. Whole plant brown-hairy. 2Q. villosa 

 LL. Whole plant not brown- 

 hairy: lis. often hairy 

 or villous. 

 u. Frs. white or whitish. 

 N. Young Ivs. densely 

 woolly beneath; ma- 

 ture Ivs. not abruptly 



acuminate 21. Palmeri 



NN. Young hs. not densely 



woolly; mature Ivs. [toria 



abruptly acuminate. 22, infec- 



23. Cunning- 

 MM. Frs. red or yellowish. [hamii 

 N. The frs. on scaly leaf- 

 less branches. 

 o. Lvs. almost orbic- 

 ular 24. Rox- 



oo. Lvs. ovate to ovate- [burghii 



lanceolate 25. glomer- 



NN. The frs. sessile or [ata 



short-stalked. 

 o. Young hs. woolly or 

 rusty. 

 P. Lvs. cordate at base. 

 Q. Diam. offr. about 



I4in 26. rubigi- 



QQ. Diam. offr. 1 J^- [nosa 



J H i» 27. Bellin- 



pp. Lvs. not cordate at [gefi 



base 28. altissima 



oo. Young lvs. not woolly 

 or rusty. 

 p. Base of lvs. nar- 

 rowed. 

 Q. Stipules glabrous. 

 R. Lvs. 2-4 in. 

 long:fr. yellow 

 or reddish .... 29. retusa 

 RR. Lvs. S-4I2 in. 

 long : f r . 

 orange-yellow.30. aurea 

 QQ. Stipules not gla- 

 brous 31. indica 



pp. Base of lvs. 



rounded 32. benghal- 



[ensis 



1. Carica, Linn. Figs. 1500, 1505, 1506. Height 

 1.5-30 ft.: lvs. .3-5-Iobed, the lobes more or less wav^-- 

 margined or lobed, and with palmate veins, whereas 

 nearly all species mentioned below are pinnately 

 veined: fr. single, axillary, pear-shaped. Supposed to 

 be a native of Caria, in Asia Minor. — Makes a fine 

 pot-plant, and fruits freely in northern conservatories. 

 For cult, see Fig. 



2. Pseudo-Carica, Miq. Resembling the fig of com- 

 merce, but the lvs. more deeply cut than in F. Carica, 

 3- or sometimes 5-nerved : fr. axillary, round, roughish. 

 Abyssinia. — Franceschi says of the Calif, cult . specimens 

 "fr. said to contain very much sugar, but so far (1914) 

 it has never come to perfection in Calif., where, how- 

 ever, it is now attracting considerable attention, it 

 having proved to be the very best home for. . . . 

 small wasps ( Blastophaga) which are indisjjensable 

 for the fertilization of the so-called 'Smyrna figs'." 



3. macrocarpa, Wight. Becomes a large, climbing 

 shrub, very rarely a small tree: lvs. 5 in. long, mem- 

 branous, broadly ovate; petiole 2-2 J/2 in. long; primary 

 lateral nerves about 3 pairs: fr. 1-23^ in. thick, spotted, 



globose, in cauline clusters. India. K. 208. — This name 

 was once advertised as a shrub with leathery lvs. The 

 true species is a climbing shrub. 



4. pteiila, Linn. (F. stipulata, Thunb. F. ripens, 

 Hort., not Rottl.). Cheeping Fig. Fig. 1501. Pros- 

 trate or climbing shrub, chnging close to conserva- 

 tory walls and then flattened: lvs. more or less 2-ranked, 

 on very short petioles, ovate, obtuse, entire or slightly 

 wavy, rounded or cordate at the base, often un- 

 equally; veins prominent below. Japan, China, 



1501. Ficus pumila, fruiting branch. 



Austral. B.M.6657. R.H. 1891:448. K. 158. G.C. II. 

 14:560, 561, 717. H.U. 4, p. 359 (the last two as F. 

 stipulata). Var. minima {F. minima, Hort.) has smaller 

 lvs. The species is sometimes used for hanging- 

 baskets. 



5. radicans, Desf . Garden' plant, with green, oblong- 

 acuminate lvs. and trailing habit. Imperfectly known. 

 Habitat unknown. Var. variegata, Hort. W. Bull., has 

 lvs. irregularly marked with creamy white, the variega- 

 tion beginning at the margin. G.C. III. 22:185. A.G. 

 19:. 527. R.B. 28:37.— Useful for hanging-baskets. 

 Intro. 1897. , 



6. hispida, Linn. f. (F. oppositifdlia, Willd.). Shrub 

 or small tree, all the parts mostly hispid-pubescent: 

 lvs. entire or toothed, opposite, rough-hairy: fr. clus- 

 tered on old wood or leafy branches, hispid, yellowish. 

 Asia, Trop. Austral. K. 154, 155. — Scarcely cult, in 

 .\mer. outside of botanic gardens. 



7. Parcellii, Veitch. Lvs. thin, membranous, light 

 green, mottled with cream-white, more or less in the 

 manner of mosaic, oblong-oval, acuminate, dentate. 

 Islands of Pacific. F.S. 22:'2'273. F.M. 1874:124. 

 A.F. 29:1290. G.C. III. .35:13.— Intro, by Veitch 

 about 1874. A warmhouse shrubby plant; probably the 

 most popular of the variegated forms of Ficus. Readily 

 prop, by cuttings of half-ripened wood placed in sand 

 in brisk bottom heat. Also cult, in S. Calif., where it 

 bears tricolored fr. 



8. Krishnas, DC. Krishna Bor. Small tree with 

 gray bark, the branches puberulent: lvs. cup-shaped, 

 the limb of the cup containing the mid-rib, with 4-5 

 pairs of lateral nerves: fr. axillary, sessile, solitary or 

 sometimes in pairs, yellow, about }2in. diam. India. 

 B.M. 8092, where there is also an account of the super- 

 stitions in regard to the tree among the Indians. — The 

 large showy and extraordinarily cupi>ed lvs. of this 

 most distinct fig will undoubtedly make it popular. 

 Little known as yet in U. S. 



9. Barteri, Sprague. A shrub or smaU tree 6-25 ft. 

 tall in nature, lower in cult., smooth, with thick ridged 

 branches: lvs. petiolate, the blade the narrow-est of 

 almo.st all the figs, 6-14 in. long, and less than IJ--2 in. 

 wide, bright green above, paler beneath; primary lateral 



