Violin fig
Violin fig | ||||||||||||
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![]() Violin fig ( Ficus lyrata ) |
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Systematics | ||||||||||||
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Scientific name | ||||||||||||
Ficus lyrata | ||||||||||||
Warb. |
The violin fig ( Ficus lyrata ) is a plant from the genus of figs ( Ficus ) within the family of Mulberry family (Moraceae). The popular houseplant owes its name to the large, wavy leaves that are reminiscent of the shape of a violin.
description
Vegetative characteristics
The violin fig grows as an evergreen tree or shrub and reaches heights of 10 to 16 meters. It thrives either epiphytically , terrestrially or as a strangler fig .
The leaves are alternate and arranged in a spiral. With a length of 20 to 45 centimeters and a width of 12 to 28 centimeters, the bald leaf blade is violin-shaped, wavy and with entire margins. The base of the blades is more or less deeply heart-shaped.
Generative characteristics
ecology
Like many other fig species, the violin fig can only be pollinated by a certain fig wasp , in this case Agaon spatulatum , and the wasp can only lay its eggs in the "fruit" of the violin fig.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Starr_010820-0007_Ficus_lyrata.jpg/220px-Starr_010820-0007_Ficus_lyrata.jpg)
Occurrence
The violin fig is native to tropical West and Central Africa in the states of Benin , Ivory Coast , Gabon , Cameroon , Liberia , Nigeria , Sierra Leone and Togo . In the tropics and subtropics it is a popular ornamental plant and partly overgrown, for example in Hawaii .
The violin fig occurs in rainforests together with Ficus pseudomangifera , Discoglypremna caloneura , Antidesma laciniatum , Parinari glabra , Pauridiantha and Leptaspis cochleata .
Taxonomy
The first description of Ficus lyrata in 1894 by Otto Warburg in Botanical yearbooks for systematics, plant history, plant geography , volume 20, pages 172-173. A synonym for Ficus lyrata Warb. is Ficus pandurata Hance .
use
The violin fig is used as an ornamental plant in tropical parks and gardens .
The violin fig is a straightforward houseplant that is also well suited for hydroponics .
Web links
- Ficus lyrata . In: S. Dressler, M. Schmidt, G. Zizka (Eds.): African plants - A Photo Guide. Senckenberg, Frankfurt / Main 2014.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Ficus lyrata in: Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève . (English)
- ↑ a b c Ficus lyrata - data sheet in: Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (Hear) . (English)
- ↑ Ficus lyrata on: FigWeb . (English)
- ^ Ficus lyrata in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
- ^ Ficus lyrata at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, accessed on May 4, 2015.