1232 



FICUS 



FICUS 



nerves 16-18 pairs: frs. in axillurj' clusters of 2-3, 

 almost round, orange-colored when mature, and edible. 

 S. Nigeria. — Little known in U. S. as yet, but worthy 

 of cult. 



10. pandurata, Hort., not Hance, which is an acumi- 

 nate-lvd. Chinese fig, apparently not in cult. A showy 

 shrub or tree with distinctive fiddle-shaped or banjo- 

 shaped Ivs. frequently a foot long, decidedly emarginate 

 at the apex, cordate at the narrowed base, dark glossy 

 green, the prominent nerves whitish: fr. unknown. 

 G. 28:682. G.C. III. .3.3: 284. Gng. 16:34. Gn. M. 

 8:268. A.F. 23:239; 26:203.— A showy stove fig now 

 widely grown. Intro, in 1903. 



11. quercifolia, Roxbg. The oak-lvd. form is the 

 typical one, but King includes F. humilis, Roxbg., in 

 which the Ivs. are serrate or nearly entire and not 

 lobed. Lvs. 2-5 in. long, "thickly membranous;" 



nerves 5-7 pairs; petiole 

 )-2-l in. long: fr. in axillar.y 

 pairs, egg- or pea-shaped. 

 Burma, Malaya, where it is 

 a shrub. L.B.C. 16:1.540. 

 K. 95. (The plant fruit- 

 ing soon after importa- 

 tion, when 2 ft. high.) — 

 Advertised in 1895, and 

 grown for years at the 

 Montarioso Nurseries. Voss 

 refers this, with many other 

 synonyms, to F. hclero- 

 phylla. 



12. elastica, Roxbg. (F. 

 Dui'uiicri, Hort., a form with 

 thinner lvs.; otherwise the 

 same). India Rubber 

 Plant. I'igs. 1.502, 1503. 

 Lvs. 4-12 in. long, shining, 

 leathery, oblong to elliptic, 

 with an abrupt, dull point; 

 nerves parallel, running at 

 nearly right angles from 

 midrib to margin: fr. in 

 pairs, sessile, in axils of 

 fallen lvs., covered at first 

 by a hodded involucre, 

 when ripe greenish yellow, 

 }^in. long. Damp forests 

 of Trop. Asia. G.F. 2:547. 

 H.U. 6, p. 108. K. 54.— 

 Becomes 100 ft. high in 

 tropics, but becomes un- 

 sightly under glass at 8 or 

 lO ft. Cult, plants mostly 

 have a single st., but there 

 is a growing demand for 

 compact and branching 

 plants. Var. variegata (var. aiirea, Hort.) is much 

 less popular. Lvs. creamy white or yellow near the 

 edges. Liable to fungous diseases. This species is also 

 grown S. as a shade tree. The nervation is very 

 characteristic. So, also, is the handsome rosy sheath 

 which incloses the young lvs., and which soon drops 

 off. This is regarded as a stipule of exceptionally 

 great size. 



13. Benjamina, Linn. A rather unimportant tree 

 horticulturally, with small lvs., and smooth throughout: 

 lvs. thin, not much coriaceous, shining, ovate-elliptic, 

 entire, the apex sharply acuminate, 2-4^ 2 in- long; 

 lateral primary nerves very numerous, freely inter- 

 mingling near the margins of the lvs. : frs. in pairs, 

 axillary and sessile, smooth and blood-red when ripe. 

 Malayan Renins. K. 52, 83/). Var. comosa, Kurz. 

 Fig. 1504. Sepals lanceolate-acuminate rather than 

 spatulate: fr. ?4 in. diam., narrowed at base rather 

 than globose or ovoid. 



1502. Leaf of rubber plant, 

 Ficus elastica, showing vena- 

 tion. (Xh) 



14. religiosa, Linn. Peepul Tree of the Hindoos. 

 Lvs. ovate-rotund, at the apex produced into a long, 

 hnear-lanceolate tail-like appendage; petiole 3-4 in. 

 long; stipules minute: fr. in axillary pairs, sessile, dark 

 purple, > 2'n. thick. India. Gn. 1, p. 435. K. 67a. — 

 Grows 100 ft. high, and the lvs., suspended on their 

 long, flexible petioles, rustle in the slightest breeze. 

 "Quite hardy in S. Calif, but not attaining very large 

 size." — Franceschi. 



15. glabella, Blume. A small tree, ultimately glabrous 

 throughout: lvs. petioled, thin, not very leathery, 

 obovate-oblong, acuminate, entire, 2-4 in. long, 3- 

 nerved, and with 8-10 pairs of primary lateral nerves: 

 fr. all lateral, sometimes axillary, usuallj' not so, sessile, 

 or very rarely stalked in cult, sjjecimens, dark purplish, 

 sometimes with yellow dots, less than J-^in. diam. 

 Malaya Penins. K. 60. 



16. brevifolia, Nutt. {F. popidnea, Willd.). An ever- 

 green tree, sometimes epiphytic in nature, 10-30 ft.: 

 lvs. thin and only slightly leathery, ovate or rarely 

 obovate, l'2-4 in. long, acute at the apex, broad at the 

 base; primary lateral nerves 14-16 pairs: fr. distinctly 

 stalked, yellow when young, ultimately bright red, 

 about 3 2in. diam., and nearly globose. Fla.— <)f little 

 value horticultu- 

 rally, except for t he 

 frs. 



17. erecta,Thunb. 

 Extraordinarily va- 

 riable: shrub tq^ 

 small tree, gla- 

 brous, pubescent, or 

 almost strigose: lvs. 

 broadly ovate, obo- 

 vate or elliptic 

 (lanceolate in var. 

 Sieholdii), entire or 

 with here and there 

 a lobe, or rather , 

 coarselj' dentate ,1 

 above the middle : ffl 

 fr. single or in pairs, " 

 peduncled or sub- 

 sessile, and either 

 globose and not 

 stalked or pear- 

 shaped and long- 

 stalked. Himalayas, 

 China, Japan. B. 

 M. 7550 (where the 

 lvs. look rather 

 leathery). K. 178.— 

 Procurable through 

 dealers in Japanese 

 plants. 



IS. diversifolia, Blume (F. lutescens, Hort.). Mis- 

 tletoe Fig. A smooth shrub or small tree with short- 

 stalked or sessile lvs. : lvs. broadh- obovate, the much- 

 narrowed base glandular, )-3 in. long, midrib branched 

 once or twice, glandular at the joints: fr. axillary, soli- 

 tary, or rarely in pairs, always stalked, dull yellow or red- 

 dish when ripe. India and Malay Penins. R.B. 30:156. 

 K. 174. — The small lvs. and usually solitary fr. suggest 

 the mistletoe, and in nature the plant is often an epiphyte. 



19. macrophylla, Desf. Moreton B.«- Fig. Lvs. 

 6-10 in. long, 3-4 in. wide; stipules 2-4 in. long: fr. 

 nearly globular, 9-12 lines thick, axillary, in 3's or 4's, 

 on short, thick peduncles. Austral. — Much planted in 

 S. and Cent. Calif., where, however, it does not perfect 

 seed. F. von Mueller says it is perhaps the grandest 

 of Australian avenue trees. Ernest Braunton claims 

 for this species partial or perhaps complete immunity 

 from frost. He cites a specimen in CaUf. which leaved 

 out after a heavy frost and is still (1914) healthy after 

 more than a year has elapsed since the frost. 



Ficus elastica, the rubber plant 

 of florists. 



