Violin fig
| Violin fig | ||||||||||||
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Violin fig ( Ficus lyrata ) |
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| 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.
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.