Australian Native Plants

   Ficus watkinsiana


Ficus watkinsiana photo
Strangler Fig

Photograph copyright: oznativeplants - all rights reserved.




WATKINS FIG FACTS

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.

Height
35m - 45m

Habitat
Sub-tropical and coastal rainforest

Wildlife Interest
attracts birds and fruit-bats

Distribution
New South Wales, Queensland

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