Ficus altissima Blume

Council tree (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Rosales > Moraceae > Ficus

Characteristics

Tree up to 40 m tall, hemi-epiphytic or (secondarily?) terrestrial. Branches drying brown. Leafy twigs 5-7 mm thick, ± angular, minutely whitish puberulous to glabrous; periderm persistent. Leaves spirally arranged; lamina elliptic to ovate (or to oblong), (8-)10-22(-38) by 6-13(-24) cm, coriaceous, apex short-acuminate, base (sub) attenuate to rounded; both surfaces glabrous; midrib slightly prominent to flat above, lateral veins 7-10(-12) pairs, the basal pair ± distinct, up to (1/6-)1/4-1/3(-1/2) the length of the lamina, branched, straight or slightly curved, 0 or 1 pairs of smaller lateral veins below the main pair, tertiary venation reticulate, slightly prominent beneath; waxy gland at the base of the midrib; petiole 2-5(-10) cm long, 2-4(-6) mm thick, glabrous, drying brown to blackish; stipules 2-4 cm long, densely whitish puberulous, caducous. Figs axillary, paired (or solitary), initially in up to 1.5 cm long puberulous calyptrate bud covers, sessile; basal bracts (2 or) 3, 1-3 mm long, unequal in size, often connate, forming a lobate to subentire ring, minutely puberulous, persistent; receptacle ellipsoid, 1-1.5(-2) cm diam. when dry, glabrous, red at maturity, apex convex to submammillate, ostiole c. 2.5 mm diam., ± prominent, open, the 3 upper ostiolar bracts subequal to unequal, slightly or not imbricate, rather thick; wall ± shrivelled when dry; internal hairs absent. Tepals reddish. Ovary partly red.
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Trees, 25-30 m tall, d.b.h. 40-90 cm. Bark gray, smooth. Branchlets green, ca. 1 cm thick, pubescent. Stipules 2-3 cm, thickly leathery, with gray silky hairs. Petiole robust, 2-5 cm; leaf blade broadly ovate to broadly ovate-elliptic, 10-19 × 8-11 cm, thickly leathery, glabrous, base broadly cuneate, margin entire, apex obtuse, acute; basal lateral veins long, secondary veins 5-7 on each side of midvein, reticulate venation clearly defined in dry leaf. Figs axillary on leafy branchlets, paired, red or yellow when mature, ellipsoid-ovoid, 1.7-2.8 cm, sometimes pubescent when very young, glabrous when mature, apical pore navel-like, convex, sessile; involucral bracts hoodlike, covering young fig, caducous, apex broadly obtuse, scar ringlike. Male, gall, and female flowers within same fig. Male flowers: scattered; calyx lobes 4, transparent, membranous; stamen 1. Gall flowers: sepals 4; style subapical, long. Female flowers: sessile; sepals 4; style elongated. Achenes tuberculate. Fl. Mar-Apr, fr. May-Jul.
A fig. It is a large tree. The trunk has buttresses. It grows 30 m tall and has a spreading crown. It is a stranger fig starting attached to other plants then sending down roots to allow the tree to grow independently. The bark is smooth and grey. The leaves are alternate and narrowly oval. They are 10 cm long by 4 cm wide. The flowers occur singly or in pairs in the axils of leaves. The fruit or figs are orange-red and 2.5 cm long. They have many seeds.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support hemiepiphyte
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality monoecy
Pollination entomogamy
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 27.5 - 30.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

Lowland and mountain forests at elevations from 100-2,000 metres. Often starting off life as an epiphyte in the branch of a tree, it can also establish itself on walls, buildings, bridges, etc.
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It is a tropical plant. In Yunnan.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 8-12

Usage

The young leaf buds are blanched and then boiled with pork.
Uses animal food environmental use food fuel material medicinal
Edible fruits
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) 15 - 90
Germination temperacture (C°) 21 - 26
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Ficus altissima habit picture by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)
Ficus altissima habit picture by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)
Ficus altissima habit picture by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Ficus altissima leaf picture by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)
Ficus altissima leaf picture by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)
Ficus altissima leaf picture by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Ficus altissima fruit picture by widjatmiko ary pramono (cc-by-sa)
Ficus altissima fruit picture by widjatmiko ary pramono (cc-by-sa)
Ficus altissima fruit picture by widjatmiko ary pramono (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Ficus altissima world distribution map, present in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Colombia, Indonesia, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iceland, Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, United States of America, and Viet Nam

Conservation status

Ficus altissima threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:852369-1
WFO ID wfo-0000687266
COL ID 6HVST
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 706290
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Urostigma lacciferum Urostigma altissimum Ficus latifolia Ficus laccifera Ficus altissima f. laccifera Ficus altissima var. laccifera Ficus altissima