Ficus sansibarica: Difference between revisions

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|binomial_authority = [[Otto Warburg (botanist)|Warb.]] 1894
|binomial_authority = [[Otto Warburg (botanist)|Warb.]] 1894
|synonyms =
|synonyms =
* ''F. brachylepis'' <small>Welw. ex Hiern</small>
* ''F. delagoensis'' <small>T. R. Sim</small>
* ''F. gossweileri'' <small>Hutch.</small><ref name=kcp/>
* ''F. langenburgii'' <small>Warb.</small>
* ''F. langenburgii'' <small>Warb.</small>
* ''F. ugandensis'' <small>Hutch.</small>
* ''F. ugandensis'' <small>Hutch.</small>

Revision as of 15:16, 7 July 2013

Knobbly fig
The nominate race in the Kruger Park
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
(unranked):
(unranked):
(unranked):
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Species:
F. sansibarica
Binomial name
Ficus sansibarica
Warb. 1894
Synonyms
  • F. brachylepis Welw. ex Hiern
  • F. delagoensis T. R. Sim
  • F. gossweileri Hutch.[1]
  • F. langenburgii Warb.
  • F. ugandensis Hutch.
  • F. zanzibarica Boeck. ex Engl.[2]

The Knobbly fig (Ficus sansibarica) is an African species of cauliflorous fig. They regularly reach 10 m, but may grow up to 40 m tall as forest stranglers.[1] It occurs in tropics and subtropics from coastal elevations to 900 m above sea level.[3] They prefer deep sandy soil and often start life as a strangler.[4][5] The pollinating wasp is Courtella armata.[3]

Description

The light grey bark is fairly smooth, though lumpy and folded.[1] The smooth leaves are up to 13 cm long and oblong-obovate.[5] They have parallel sides and are carried on slender petioles.[1]

The large (up to 5 cm), bitter-tasting figs appear in groups of 2 or 3 during the summer months.[1] They grow on the characteristic wart-like, leafless branchlets on the trunk and main branches (i.e. old wood).[4]

F. chirindensis of the forests of southeastern Zimbabwe and adjacent Mozambique is similar, but has the leaves more oval, often has buttress roots,[4] and bears the small (1.5 cm) figs in stalked pairs on second year branches.[1]

Races and status

  • Ficus sansibarica (nom.) – East Africa: southern Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland
  • F. s. macrosperma (Warb. ex Mildbr. & Burret) C.C.Berg – West and Central Africa

The species is deemed critically endangered in Swaziland, where most are located in proposed sugar cane expansion areas near Sihoye.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Palgrave, K.C. (1984). Trees of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik. pp. 105–106. ISBN 0-86977-081-0.
  2. ^ "Ficus sansibarica Warb". The Plant List. Version 1. 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  3. ^ a b Van Noort; et al. "Ficus sansibarica sansibarica Warburg 1894". Figweb. iziko museums. Retrieved 7 January 2012. {{cite web}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |last= (help)
  4. ^ a b c Van Wyk, Braam; et al. (1997). Field Guide to the Trees of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik. p. 78. ISBN 1-86825-922-6. {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |first= (help)
  5. ^ a b Palmer, Eve (1977). A Field Guide to the Trees of Southern Africa. London, Johannesburg: Collins. pp. 89–90. ISBN 0-620-05468-9.
  6. ^ "SABONET Report No. 38" (PDF). Moraceae. p. 119. Retrieved 7 July 2013.