Ficus chartacea (Kurz) Wall. ex King

Shrub or tree up to 12 m tall; milk sap sometimes watery. Leafy twigs 1-2.5 mm thick, (sub)glabrous; periderm persistent. Leaves spirally arranged; lamina oblong to elliptic to (sub)obovate (or to lanceolate), 5-16(-21) by 1-8 cm, chartaceous (to sub-coriaceous), apex acuminate to caudate, base cuneate (to rounded), margin entire (or sparsely denticulate); upper surface glabrous or sparsely appressed-puberulous, smooth, lower surface rather sparsely appressed on the veins or glabrous, on the midrib occasionally subhirtellous; cystoliths absent; lateral veins 4-7 pairs, the basal pair not distinct from the other lateral veins, tertiary venation loosely scalariform; waxy glands in the axils of the basal lateral veins, sometimes also in the axils of other lateral veins; petiole 0.5-3.5(-6) cm long, (sub)glabrous or appressed-puberulous, the epidermis persistent; stipules 0.3-1.2 cm long, only ciliolate, caducous. Figs mostly below the leaves on previous season’s growth, in pairs, with a peduncle 0.1-0.4 cm long (or sessile); basal bracts 3, c. 1 mm long, only ciliolate; receptacle subglobose, 0.4-0.8 cm diam. when dry, 0.6-1.2 cm diam. when fresh, sometimes up to 0.1 cm long stipitate, sparsely minutely puberulous or glabrous, yellow to orange (or scarlet) at maturity, apex convex, ostiole 1.5-2 mm diam., slightly prominent; internal hairs abundant to sparse, whitish.

It is a tropical plant. In Yunnan in China it grows along streams between 1,400-1,800 m above sea level.

UsesThe bark is used for string.