Ficus macrophylla
Ficus macrophylla in the Botanical Garden of Palermo
The Moreton Bay fig ( Ficus macrophylla ) is a species of the subgenus Urostigma from the kind of figs ( Ficus ) in the family of the mulberry family ( Moraceae ). The Moreton Bay fig comes from the northeast of Australia.
Pollinators of broad-leaved fig tree is the fig wasp Pleistodontes froggatti.
Description
Appearance and leaf
The Moreton Bay fig grows as a large, evergreen tree, reaching heights of growth up to 55 meters with a trunk diameter of up to 2 meters. The strain forms numerous buttresses. The crown is wide spreading. Starting from the branches to form numerous aerial roots that can take root in the ground at the appropriate length. The subspecies Ficus macrophylla subsp. columnaris differs in that it begins to grow as an epiphyte, then reaches to the roots of the earth and never forms a straight trunk.
The alternate arranged leaves are petiolate 5 to 10 cm long. The leaf blade is broadly elliptical to oblong with a length of 10 to 25 cm and a width of 7 to 10 cm and ends pointed or with an attached, blunt tip, at the base is wedge-shaped or slightly rounded. The lower leaf surface is hairy reddish, the hair loses over time. On each side of the main artery branches from 13 to 16 leaf veins. The conspicuous stipules are at a length of 5 to 10 cm, up to 15 cm, pointed and slightly hairy or bald.
Inflorescence and flower
The inflorescence is how the rights of fig ( Ficus carica ) is known, a Syconium. The inflorescences stand together as a couple, they are round or slightly elongated with a length of 1.8 to 2.5 cm and a diameter of 1.5 to 2.4 cm. The peduncle measures 2 to 2.5 cm with a diameter of 0.6 cm, sitting at his two wide - oval bracts. The opening of the fig is very small and barely raised above the surface of the fruit, around the opening are three small lobes arranged.
The male flowers are stalked and have three or four bracts. The female leaves have a short stalk and usually three bracts, the short pen bears an undivided scar.
The inflorescences are still green, the fruit is later dark red with yellowish- green spots.
Dissemination
The Moreton Bay fig is from the east coast of Australia. It comes from the north-east Queensland before to after New South Wales. It grows in the rain forests of the lowlands as well as in montane rain forests. The subspecies columnaris is endemic to Lord Howe Iceland. From the Moretonbucht in Queensland has its English name " Moreton Bay Fig ".
Systematics and botanical history
The first description was by René Desfontaines and 1807 in the second volume of Christian Hendrik Persoons: Synopsis Plantarum, page 609 published. A homonym is Ficus macrophylla Roxb. & Buch.-Ham. ex Sm ( published in The Cyclopædia; or, Universal dictionary of arts, sciences, and literature, 14, 1810, p 32). Synonyms for Ficus macrophylla Desf. ex Pers. among other Ficus macrocarpa Flower and Ficus magnolioides Borzi.
Within the large Moreton Bay fig Ficus genus which is further classified into the subgenus Urostigma there in the section Malvanthera and in the sub-section Malvanthereae. The closest related species is Ficus pleurocarpa.
Use
The Moreton Bay fig is cultivated as an ornamental tree. It is used in California, Florida, Hawaii and New Zealand. In the 19th century the Moreton Bay fig was imported to Europe. The botanist Antonino Borzi, director of the Botanical Garden of Palermo, described the way in 1897 and gave it the name Ficus magnolioides because their leaf shape of a magnolia similar. In Palermo 1840 specimens of this species were already in place and have been planted in the Botanical Garden of Palermo, the Giardino Inglese, the Giardino Garibaldi and Villa Whitaker.