FICUS 



583 



CuU. 



not tall trees 



B. ITabit erect, not climbing. 



c. Under surface oflvs. not rttsty. 



K Foliage not variegated (except in a variety nf No. 2). 



E. Ifi's. entire or with margins wavy, not lobed. 



F. yerves numerous, ,50 pairs or so. 



2. elAstica, Roxb. India Rubber Plant. Figs. 818, 



long, shiuing, leathery, oblong to 



abrupt, (lull poiu 



parallel, 

 nearly right angles 

 from midrib to margin: fr. 

 in pairs, sessile, in axils of 

 fallen Ivs., covered at first 

 by a hooded involucre, when 

 iipe greenish yellow, 3^ in. 

 long Damp forests of trop. 

 Asia G.F. 2:547. — Becomes 

 100 ft high in tropics, but 

 becomes unsightly under 

 glass at 8 or 10 ft. Cult, 

 plants mostly have a single 

 stem, but there is a growing 

 demand for compact and 

 branching plants. Var. va- 

 riBgata (var. aurea, Hort.) 

 IS much less popular. Lvs. 

 tieamy white or yellow near 

 the edges. J. D.Eisele says 

 iC IS liible to fungous dis- 



incloses the yountr Iv,-,., ;iiid 

 which soon drops off. This 

 Is regarded as a stipult- of 

 exceptionally great size. 

 FF. Nerves about 8 pairs. 

 3. erficta, Thunb. Extra- 

 ordinarily variable : shrub 



, Leaf of Rubber Plant, 

 elastica (X34} 



pu- 



I 'ear-shaped 



layas. China, Japan. B.M. 7" ,n , l,.rr the lvs. look 

 rather leathery). Procurable tlinmnh deiders in Japa- 

 nese plants. 



FFF. Nerves about 3 pairs. 



4. macTOcdrpa, Wight. Becomes a large, climbing 

 tr^e: lvs. 5 in. long, memliranous, broadly ovate; peti- 

 ole 2-2H in. long: fr. 1-2H in. thick, spotted, globo.se, in 

 cauline clusters. India. — This name was once adv. by 

 John Saul who spoke of the plant as a shrub with 

 leathery h s 



EE Lis deeply lot ed, not n e> hjuaiy 



5 quercifbha Ro\b The oak leaved firm is the typi- 

 cal me 1 t Kii 1 111 t 1 I h \b in which 

 tht l\ 1 bed Lvs, 



■' in 1 5-7piirs; 



I t I g or pea- 



si a| 1 I hiuh often 



creepii g It- 1 L I I i I 4 liuitmg soon 



after unpoitatiou when 2 ft high) AU lb9o by Pitcher 

 and Manda Voss refers this with manj other syno- 

 nyms to F heteiophylla 



DD I ohage lat tegatid 



I Parc^lli \ eitch Lvs thin membranous light 

 green, iniittle<l with cream white, more 01 less in the 



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

 Islands of Pacific. P.S. 22:227:1. F.M. 1874:124. -Int. by 

 Veitch about 1^74 \ I'lul -^irubby plant; prob- 



ipiil I • ' it. .1 forms of Ficus. 



- It I t i,\ cuttings of half- 



ripened wo.jil |.l.i. ..1 1)1 ,. I 1. I, liottomheat Also 

 cult, in !S. Cahf., whii. ji Ih.u., u u ..l„red fr. 



ably tb( 



cc. Cnder surface of young lvs. rusty. 



7. rubiglndsa, Desf. (F. austntlis, Willd.). Lvs. 

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

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

 Australia, where it thro-vs out aerial roots like the 

 Banyan Tree. B.M. 29.S9.-The rusty color is a beauti- 

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



BB. Habit clitnhing or trailing. 

 c. Form of lvs. ovate, nhluse, unequally heart-shaped 



8. piimila, Linn. {F. stipiilAtn, Thunb. F. ripens, 

 Hort., not Rottl.). Ckeepino Fig. Fig. 819. Pros- 

 trate or climbing shruh, clinffiiig close to conserva- 

 tory walls and then fbitteiied. Lvs. more or less 



tire or sli«litl\ w.i\v, iMiiiMlr,! ,,r .-.ir.late at lln- l.ase, 



often unequall\ ; \ (in- ]>i' lit-iil !m'1m\\ , .lapaii. I liiiia, 



Australia. I'., M , 1 Ji.".7. I.' M 1.-'i1:I(s. li.r. ||. 1 1 ::,i;(i, 

 561, 717. Var. minima i F. n,i„n„,i. llm-t.) has smaller 

 lvs. The species is sometinies used for hanging baskets. 



cc. For 

 n. radieans, 



f Iv. 



tree."-B,asnn,r. "A dense shade tree: lvs. have a 

 peculiar metallic lu.ster: small fruits, much relished by 

 cattle and children."— Franceschi. 



12. infectoria, Ro 



pair 



fr. 



flushed an. 



Grows 60 ft. high, an 



cc. Texture of!, 



D. Pnih 



13. rubiginosa, D. - 



DD. Undi r 



E. Stipules rem '" 



14. elastica, K..Nli. 



15. macrophylla, 1 



long ; nerves 5-7 

 ibose, H in. thick, 

 Asia, Malaya. - 

 ^st shade trees. 



