Ficus Racemosa

Botanical Name: Ficus Racemosa L.

Family: Moraceae

Common Name: Cluster Fig

English Name: Cluster fig, Gular fig, Country fig

Description: It is an evergreen or, in drier areas, deciduous tree, often with an irregular crown; it can grow 20 - 30 metres tall. The bole becomes deeply buttressed as the tree grows older and can be 36 - 90cm in diameter. Surface reddish-brown or yellowish-brown smooth, coarsely flaky, fibrous, latex milky, young shoots and twigs finely white hairy, soon glabrous, branchlets 1.5-3mm thick, puberulous.  The leaves are alternate and lanceolate, linear-lanceolate in shape, around 4 to 6 inches long, and 2 to 3 inches broad. The old leaves of the tree tend to fall all year round and the new leaves start appearing generally around the month of March. The figs appear directly on the trunk or branches of the tree in the following months of April to May. The bark of the tree is grayish-white on colour and has a smooth texture. flowers of unisexual, 4 kinds, male flowers near the mouth of receptacles, in 2-3 rings, sessile, much compressed, tepals 3-4, dentate-lacerate, lobes jointed below, red, glabrous, stamens 2, exserted, filaments 1mm, connatebelow; anthers oblong, parallel, female flowers sessile or very shortly stalked among gall flowers, tepals 3-4, dentate-lacerate, lobes jointed below, red, glabrouse, ovary superior, sessile or substipitate, red spotted; style 2-3mm long glabrous, simple, stigma clavate, gall fowers long stalked ;ovary dark red, rough, style short. 

Flowering & Fruiting: February-May

Distribution: Indo-malesa to Australia. E. Asia - Southern China, Indian subcontinent, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia.

IUCN: Stable: Least Concern. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/145362959/145371147

District: All District

Uses: The Ovambo people call the fruit of the cluster fig eenghwiyu and use it to distill ombike, their traditional liquor. The bark is used as a home remedy. In India, the bark is rubbed on a stone with water to make a paste, which can be applied to boils or mosquito bites.

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