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Botanical name |
Ficus ingens |
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Other names |
Red-leaved rock fig; rooiblaarrotsvy (Afrikaans); motlhatsa (Tswana) |
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Family |
Moraceae |
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Dimensions |
Variable in form and size, semi-deciduous, from a shrub in cold winter parts of its distribution range to a medium sized tree of up to 13 m in height; very large specimens do occur, like the legendary inhabited tree (17 huts in one tree above 'the lions' reach' level) described by Robert Moffatt of Kuruman from a trip in 1829 |
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Description of stem |
Multi-branched, broad and convoluted trunks twining at its bulky base, light grey, smooth bark, the base usually hugging a rock; spreading and curving branches; if allowed by other vegetation to grow freely develops a rounded crown, but usually straggling among other bushes and trees |
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Description of leaves |
Ovate or lanceolate, green with entire margin, apex tapering, base lobed, sometimes square, variable size around 12 cm by 5 cm; petiole 2 cm; distinctive and pronounced netveining; new leaves sprouting shortly after old leaves are lost, which happens rather briskly within a week or two; new leaves pink, coppery or bronze-red for about a week, living up to the common name before gradually turning green; leaves said to be toxic |
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Description of flowers |
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Desciption of seed/fruit |
Pale yellow-green round figs of slightly more than 1 cm in diameter on stalks in leaf axils in profusion; turn purple or brown-red when they ripen over a prolonged season from winter and at least throughout summer |
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Description of roots |
Massive rock-splitting root system that is known to reach water sources some distance from the tree |
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Variation |
Depending on the climate as it is sometimes reduced by winter cold; some leaf form variations |
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Propagation and cultivation |
Grown from cuttings, truncheons or seed |
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Tolerances |
Mildly frost resistant apart from very young plants |
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Uses |
Good for big gardens, keep far away from buildings as it is an accomplished rocksplitter, thus be careful of it as a foundation destroyer; good as a container plant or bonsai; figs edible, but not palatable; the bark has been used to treat cows with poor milk production |
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Ecological rarity |
Not threatened |
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Pests and diseases |
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Other |
All parts exude a milky latex when broken; the latex or the leaves are said to cause illness in livestock that may browse it in times of drought; the figs are barely edible for humans but highly popular with many bird species; every indigenous ficus species is pollinated by 'its own' species of wasp in a mutually dependent symbiotic relationship; in the case of F. ingens the pollinator wasp is Platyscapa soraria,that has co-evolved with the tree,whilst Otitesella longicauda also use it; the male wasps apparently fight hard for mating opportunities with available females (www.figweb.org); there are big F. ingens trees at the entrance of Makapansgat |
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Location |
Rocky outcrops, north facing cliffs in cold winter areas, bushveld, riverine and mountainous areas |
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Distribution (SA provinces) |
Eastern Cape; Kwazulu-Natal; Mpumalanga; Limpopo; Gauteng; North West |
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Country |
South Africa; Lesotho; Mozambique; Botswana; Namibia; Zimbabwe; Zambia; Malawi and north up to Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and Algeria; in West Africa across Cameroun, Nigeria, Ghana to Senegal |
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Info: www.plantzafrica.com |
