184 
No. 2. Part I. 
Ficus rubiginosa , Desf. 
THE RUSTY FIG. 
(Natural Order Urticaceai.) 
Roots. —See vol. i, p. 18. 
Mr. Robert Kaleski, of Mountain Top, Dorrigo, sends the following note on 
this tree, from his own experience in the Dorrigo 
Is at first a parasite, seed being dropped by birds into the tops of other trees, generally Rosewood 
(Dysoxylon Lessertianum) or Nettle (Laportea gigas). As the seed grows it sends out feelers, which grow 
downwards till they reach the ground, where they root. The feelers then attach themselves to the trunk 
of the tree they grew from and lace themselves on it till they completely cover it, and thus kill it and 
become a tree themselves. Height and girth same as Rosewood. Timber, soft and practically useless; 
good burner. 
In quoting the passage which follows, the compiler of an English work on 
plants adds the footnote at the end :— 
This statement needs confirmation. We are not aware that the Ficus is a parasite. 
As it is, therefore, obvious that some English botanists are not aware of this 
phenomenon, so common in tropical and sub-tropical countries, it seems desirable 
to emphasise it. 
r i he same fierce struggle for existence is well exemplified in the Mora trees 
{Mora excelm) of Guiana, of which Waterton has left an impressive picture :— 
The Wild Fig-tree (Ficus), as large as a common English apple-tree, often rears itself from one of 
the thick branches of the Mora, and when its fruit is ripe, to it the birds resort for nourishment. It was 
to an undigested seed passing through the body of this bird, which had perched on the Mora, that the 
fig-tree owed its elevated station there. The sap of the Mora raised it into full bearing. 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
1. Photograph of a fig-tree of this species, Dapto, Illawarra, 56 miles south of Sydney. (Kerry 
and Co., photo.) 
2. Drawing, by Mr. W. Tibbits, of a fig-tree of this species, parasitic on a large Eucalyptus tree, 
8-mile post, Casino-Coraki Road. In process of time the fig-tree will entirely cover up the Eucalyptus 
tree, already dead. 
