Australian Native Plants

  Ficus watkinsiana (Watkins fig)


Ficus watkinsiana photo
Strangler Fig

Photograph copyright: oznativeplants - all rights reserved.




WATKINS FIG FACTS

distribution map showing range of Ficus watkinsiana in Australia

Map is from The Atlas of Living Australia web site, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License


Common Name
Watkins fig

Other Names
Strangler Fig, Green-leaved Moreton Bay Fig

Description
Ficus watkinsiana is a large tree with wide buttresses. It often grows as a strangler fig, germinating high in a tree and dropping aerial roots down to the ground., The roots branch and thicken eventually enveloping the host tree in a thickening lattics of roots that eventually "strangles" the tree. The large leaves (10cm - 20cm long) are elliptical, glossy green above and paler underneath.The fruit is dark purple with yellow spots.

Habitat
Sub-tropical and coastal rainforest

Distribution
New South Wales, Queensland

Growth Characteristics
Height: 35m - 45m
Wildlife Interest
attracts birds and fruit-bats

Classification
Class:Magnoliopsida
Order:Rosales
Family:Moraceae
Genus:Ficus
Species:watkinsiana
Common Name:Watkins fig


Relatives in same Genus
  Ficus coronata
  Ficus macrophylla
  Ficus platypoda
  Ficus virens