Golden Fig 



369 



Fig. 327. Golden Fig. 



I. GOLDEN FIG Ficus aurea Nuttall 



This tree starts into life as a parasite; the seed germinating in the crevices of 

 the bark of other trees, produces 

 aerial roots which, when they 

 reach the ground, take root and 

 become trunks; often several of 

 these descend parallel, and sur- 

 rounding the trunk of their host, 

 finally come together and strangle 

 it. The branches also send down 

 roots, which, acting in the same 

 way, produce additional trunks, 

 and eventually form a compound 

 tree, often covering a large area. 

 Such a specimen near Miami is 

 said to have covered a quarter of 

 an acre of ground. This tree is 

 abundant in hammocks of penin- 

 sular Florida, the Keys, the Ba- 

 hamas, and grows also in Cuba, 

 often reaching a height of 20 me- 

 ters, with a trunk diameter of 12 dm. 



The bark is about 12 mm. thick, gray or brown, smooth or scaly, and upon 

 peeling off exposes the nearly black inner layers. The twigs are stout, thick and 

 pithy, smooth, bright yellow, with pale lenticels, large leaf scars, and encircling 

 stipule scars. The leaves are persistent, thick and leathery, oblong, oval or elhptic, 

 3 to ID cm. long, sharp or short taper-pointed at the apex, entire on the margin, 

 yellowish green, smooth and shining, with indented midrib above, pale, smooth and 

 slightly shining, with yellow midrib, beneath. The leaf-stalk is short; the reddish 

 stipules enclose the young leaves, which in falling leave nearly round scars. The 

 receptacles are depressed-globose, sessile or nearly so subtended by several bracts, 

 sometimes in pairs, with a small lateral opening near the top; the reddish flowers 

 within it are separated by small scales, sessile or stalked. The perianth of the 

 staminate flowers is 2- or 3-lobed; the stamens have stout flattish filaments some- 

 what longer than the perianth; anthers oblong. The pistillate flowers have a 4- or 

 5-lobed perianth, the lobes narrower than those of the staminate flowers, the ovary 

 ovoid and sessile, with a slender style and 2-lobed stigmas. The fruit is obovoid, 

 about 1.5 cm. in diameter, yellow to bright red when ripe, the nutlets light brown, 

 the seed ovoid, rounded at each end. 



The wood is soft, very weak, coarse-grained and hght brown; its specific gravity 

 is about 0,26. It is of no known economic value. The tree is sometimes planted 

 as a shade or street tree in the southern States. 



