FICUS 



FICUS 



583 



AA. Cult, indoors for ornament, hence not tall trees 

 under these conditions. 



B. Habit erect, not climbing. 

 G. Under surface of Ivs. not rusty. 



D. Foliage not variegated (except in a variety of No. 2). 

 E. Lvs. entire or with margins wavy, not lobed. 



F. Nerves numerous, 50 pairs or so. 

 2. elastica, Roxb. INDIA RUBBER PLANT. Figs. 818, 

 820. Lvs. 3-12 in. long, shining, leathery, oblong to 

 elliptic, with an abrupt, dull point; nerves parallel, run- 

 ning at nearly right angles 

 from midrib to margin: fr. 

 in pairs, sessile, in axils of 

 fallen Ivs., covered at first 

 by a hooded involucre, when 

 ripe greenish yellow, % 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- 

 riegata (var. aurea, Hort.) 

 is much less popular. Lvs. 

 creamy white or yellow near 

 the edges. J. D. Eisele says 

 it is liable to fungous dis- 

 eases. This species is also 

 grown South as a shade tree. 

 The nervation is very char- 

 acteristic. So, also, is the 

 handsome rosy sheath which 

 incloses the young Ivs., and 

 which soon drops off. This 

 is regarded as a stipule of 

 exceptionally great size. 



FF. Nerves about 8 pairs. 

 3. er6cta, Thunb. Extra- 

 ordinarily variable : shrub 

 to small tree, glabrous, pu- 

 bescent, or almost strigose : 

 Ivs. broadly ovate, obovate 

 or elliptic (lanceolate invar. 

 Sieboldii), entire or with 

 here and there a lobe, or 

 rather coarsely dentate above 

 the middle : fr. single or in 

 pairs, peduncled or subses- 

 sile, and either globose and 

 not stalked or pear-shaped 

 and long - stalked. Hima- 

 layas. China, Japan. B.M. 7550 (where the Ivs. look 

 rather leathery). Procurable through dealers in Japa- 

 nese plants. 



FFF. Nerves about 3 pairs. 



4. macrocarpa, Wight. Becomes a large, climbing 

 tree: Ivs. 5 in. long, membranous, broadly ovate; peti- 

 ole 2-2% in. long: fr. 1-2% in. thick, spotted, globose, in 

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

 John Saul, who spoke of the plant as a shrub with 

 leathery Ivs. 



EE. Lvs. deeply lobed, not merely wary. 



5. quercifdlia, Roxb. The oak-leaved form is the typi- 

 cal one, but King includes F. humilis, Roxb., in which 

 the Ivs. are serrate or nearly entire and not lobed. Lvs. 

 2-5 in. "long, "thickly membranous;" nerves 5-7-pairs; 

 petiole %-l in. long: fr. in axillary pairs, egg- or pea- 

 shaped. Burma, Malaya, where it is a shrub, often 

 creeping or decumbent. L.B.C. 16:1540 (fruiting soon 

 after importation, when 2 ft. high) . Adv. 1895 by Pitcher 

 and Manda. Voss refers this, with many other syno- 

 nyms, to F. heterophylla. 



DD. Foliage variegated. 



6. Parcelli, Veitch. Lvs. thin, membranous, light 

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



818. Leaf of Rubber Plant, 

 showing venation. F. 



elastica (X%). 



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

 Islandsof Pacific. F.S. 22:2273. F.M. 1874: 124. -Int. by 

 Veitch about 1874. A warmhouse shrubby plant; prob- 

 ably the most popular of the variegated forms of Ficus. 

 J. D. Eisele says it is 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. 



cc. Under surface of young Ivs. rusty. 



7. rubigindsa, Desf. (F. austrdlis, Willd.). Lvs. 

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

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

 Australia, 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. 



BB. Habit climbing or trailing. 



C. Form of Ivs. ovate, obtuse, unequally ^heart-shaped 

 at base. 



8. pumila, Linn. (F. stipulata, Thunb. F. repens, 

 Hort., not Rottl.). CREEPING FIG. Fig. 819. Pros- 

 trate or climbing shrub, clinging close to conserva- 

 tory walls and then flattened. Lvs. more or less 

 2-ranked, on very short petioles, ovate, obtuse, en- 

 tire or slightly wavy, rounded or cordate at the base, 

 often unequally; veins prominent below. Japan, China, 

 Australia. B.M. 6657. R.H. 1891:448. G.C. II. 14:560, 

 561, 717. Var. minima (F. minima, Hort.) has smaller 

 Ivs. The species is sometimes used for hanging baskets. 



cc. Form of Ivs. oblong -acuminate, slightly notched at 

 base. 



9. radicans, Desf. Garden plant, with green, oblong- 

 acuminate Ivs. and trailing habit. Imperfectly known. 

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

 Ivs. irregularly marked with creamy white, the variega- 

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

 19:527. Int. 1897. 



AAA. Cult, outdoors in southern Fla. and Calif, for > . 



shade, etc., hence often tall trees. 

 B. Arrangement of Ivs. usually opposite. 



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

 or small tree: Ivs. entire or toothed: fr. clustered on 

 old wood or leafy branches, hispid, yellowish. Asia. 

 Trop. Australia. 



BB. Arrangement of Ivs. alternate. 



c. Texture of Ivs. membranous, not leathery. 



D. Lvs. tapering to a point ; base entire, obtuse. 



11. glomerata, Roxb. CLUSTER FIG. Lvs. 4-7 in. 

 long ; nerves 4-6 pairs: fr. clustered on leafless, scaly 

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

 India, Burma. "A quick-growing, evergreen shade 

 tree." Reasoner. "A dense shade tree: Ivs. have a 

 peculiar metallic luster: small fruits, much relished by 

 cattle and children." Franceschi. 



DD. Lvs. with an abrupt, short, acuminate apex; base 

 notched. 



12. infectdria, Roxb. Lvs. 3%-5 in. long ; nerves 5-7 

 pairs : fr. in axillary pairs, sessile, globose, % in. thick, 

 whitish, flushed and dotted. Trop. Asia, Malaya. 

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



cc. Texture of Ivs. leathery, not membranous. 

 D. Under surface of Ivs. -rusty. 



13. rubigindsa, Desf. Described at No. 7. 



DD. Under surface of Ivs. not rusty. 



E. Stipules very large, rosy, inclosing the young Ivs. 



when young and falling off afterwards. 



14. elastica, Roxb. Described at No. 2. 



15. macrophylla, Desf. MORETON BAY FIG. Lvs. 

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

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

 on short, thick peduncles. Austral. Much planted in 

 southern and middle California, where, however, it does 

 not perfect seed. F. von Mueller says it is perhaps the 

 grandest of Australian avenue trees. 



EE. Stipules not exceptionally large and not rosy or 

 deciduous. 



