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{{Short description|Species of tree}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Speciesbox
{{taxobox
|name = Knobbly fig
|name = Knobbly fig
|image = Ficus sansibarica, c, Olifants.jpg
|image = Ficus sansibarica, c, Olifants.jpg
|image2 = Ficus sansibarica, met vye, Olifants, a.jpg
|image2 = Ficus sansibarica, met vye, Olifants, a.jpg
|image2_caption = The nominate subsp. in the [[Kruger National Park|Kruger Park]]
|image2_caption = The nominate subsp. in the [[Kruger National Park|Kruger Park]]
⚫
|taxon = Ficus sansibarica
|regnum = [[Plantae]]
⚫
|authority = [[Otto Warburg (botanist)|Warb.]] 1894
|unranked_divisio = [[Angiosperms]]
|unranked_classis = [[Eudicots]]
|unranked_ordo = [[Rosids]]
|ordo = [[Rosales]]
|familia = [[Moraceae]]
|genus = ''[[Ficus]]''
|species = '''''F. sansibarica'''''
⚫
|binomial = ''Ficus sansibarica''
⚫
|binomial_authority = [[Otto Warburg (botanist)|Warb.]] 1894
|synonyms =
|synonyms =
* ''F. brachylepis'' <small>Welw. ex Hiern</small>
* ''F. brachylepis'' <small>Welw. ex Hiern</small>
* ''F. delagoensis'' <small>T. R. Sim</small>
* ''F. delagoensis'' <small>T. R. Sim</small>
* ''F. gossweileri'' <small>Hutch.</small><ref name=kcp/>
* ''F. gossweileri'' <small>Hutch.</small><ref name = kcp/>
* ''F. langenburgii'' <small>Warb.</small>
* ''F. langenburgii'' <small>Warb.</small>
* ''F. ugandensis'' <small>Hutch.</small>
* ''F. ugandensis'' <small>Hutch.</small>
* ''F. zanzibarica'' <small>Boeck. ex Engl.</small><ref name=tpl>{{cite web |title=''Ficus sansibarica'' Warb. |url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-2812180 |work=The Plant List | series = Version 1 | year = 2010 |accessdate=5 July 2013 }}</ref>
* ''F. zanzibarica'' <small>Boeck. ex Engl.</small>
|synonyms_ref = <ref name = tpl>{{cite web |title = ''Ficus sansibarica'' Warb. |url = http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-2812180 |work = The Plant List | series = Version 1 | year = 2010 |accessdate = 5 July 2013 }}</ref>
}}
}}


The '''Knobbly fig''' (''Ficus sansibarica'') is an African species of [[cauliflory|cauliflorous]] [[Ficus|fig]]. It is named after [[Zanzibar]], where [[Franz Stuhlmann]] discovered it in 1889.<ref name=plantz>{{cite web | last=Mtsweni | first=Patrick | title=''Ficus sansibarica'' Warb. | url=http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantefg/ficussansi.htm | work=plantzafrica.com | publisher=SANBI | accessdate=24 July 2013}}</ref> They often begin life as [[epiphyte]]s, which assume a strangling habit as they develop.<ref name="fern">{{cite web |last1=Fern |first1=Ken |title=''Ficus sansibarica'' Warb. Moraceae |url= http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Ficus+sansibarica |website=Tropical Plants Database | date = 2019 |publisher= tropical.theferns.info |accessdate=31 May 2019}}</ref> They regularly reach 10 m, but may grow up to 40 m tall as forest stranglers.<ref name=kcp>{{cite book |last=Palgrave |first=K.C. |title=Trees of Southern Africa |year=1984 |publisher=Struik |location=Cape Town |isbn=0-86977-081-0 |pages=114–115}}</ref>
The '''Ficus sansibarica''', known as '''knobbly fig''', is an African species of [[cauliflory|cauliflorous]] [[Ficus|fig]]. It is named after [[Zanzibar]], where [[Franz Stuhlmann]] discovered it in 1889.<ref name=plantz>{{cite web | last=Mtsweni | first=Patrick | title=''Ficus sansibarica'' Warb. | url=http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantefg/ficussansi.htm | work=PlantZAfrica.com | publisher=SANBI | accessdate=24 July 2013}}</ref> They often begin life as [[epiphyte]]s, which assume a strangling habit as they develop.<ref name="fern">{{cite web |last1=Fern |first1=Ken |title=''Ficus sansibarica'' Warb. Moraceae |url= http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Ficus+sansibarica |website=Tropical Plants Database | date = 2019 |publisher= tropical.theferns.info |accessdate=31 May 2019}}</ref> They regularly reach 10 m, but may grow up to 40 m tall as forest stranglers.<ref name=kcp>{{cite book |last=Palgrave |first=K.C. |title=Trees of Southern Africa |year=1984 |publisher=Struik |location=Cape Town |isbn=0-86977-081-0 |pages=114–115}}</ref>


==Range and habitat==
==Range and habitat==
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==Subspecies and status==
==Subspecies and status==
* ''F. s.'' subsp. ''sansibarica'' – East Africa: southern [[Kenya]], [[Tanzania]], [[Malawi]], [[Zambia]], northern [[Botswana]], [[Zimbabwe]], [[Mozambique]], northeastern [[South Africa]] and [[Swaziland]]
* ''F. s.'' subsp. ''sansibarica'' – East Africa: southern [[Kenya]], [[Tanzania]], [[Malawi]], [[Zambia]], northern [[Botswana]], [[Zimbabwe]], [[Mozambique]], northeastern [[South Africa]] and [[Eswatini]]
* ''F. s.'' subsp. ''macrosperma'' <small>(Warb. ex Mildbr. & Burret) C.C.Berg</small> – West and Central Africa: [[Senegal]] to [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|DRC]], [[Uganda]] and [[Angola]]
* ''F. s.'' subsp. ''macrosperma'' <small>(Warb. ex Mildbr. & Burret) C.C.Berg</small> – West and Central Africa: [[Senegal]] to [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|DRC]], [[Uganda]] and [[Angola]]


The species is deemed critically endangered in Swaziland, where most are located in proposed [[sugar cane]] expansion areas near [[Sihoye]].<ref>{{cite web |title=SABONET Report No. 38 |url=http://www.sabonet.org.za/downloads/35_swaziland_tree_atlas/f.swazi.ficus-rosaceae.pdf |page=119 |work=Moraceae |accessdate=7 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110812205130/http://www.sabonet.org.za/downloads/35_swaziland_tree_atlas/f.swazi.ficus-rosaceae.pdf |archivedate=12 August 2011 }}</ref> On [[Inhaca Island]] however, it is held sacred by most communities, and is scrupulously protected.<ref name=plantz/>
The species is deemed critically endangered in Eswatini, where most are located in proposed [[sugar cane]] expansion areas near [[Sihoye]].<ref>{{cite web |title=SABONET Report No. 38 |url=http://www.sabonet.org.za/downloads/35_swaziland_tree_atlas/f.swazi.ficus-rosaceae.pdf |page=119 |work=Moraceae |accessdate=7 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110812205130/http://www.sabonet.org.za/downloads/35_swaziland_tree_atlas/f.swazi.ficus-rosaceae.pdf |archivedate=12 August 2011 }}</ref> On [[Inhaca Island]] however, it is held sacred by most communities, and is scrupulously protected.<ref name=plantz/>


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
<gallery mode=packed heights=160 style="font-size:100%; line-height:130%">
<gallery mode="packed" heights="160" style="font-size:100%; line-height:130%">
Knob Fig Tree (Ficus sansibarica) (11498807685).jpg|Foliage
Knob Fig Tree (Ficus sansibarica) (11498807685).jpg|Foliage
Knobby fig (Ficus sansibarica), Kruger National Park, South Africa (29208468275).jpg|Figs on wart-like branchlets
Knobby fig (Ficus sansibarica), Kruger National Park, South Africa (29208468275).jpg|Figs on wart-like branchlets
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[[Category:Trees of Africa]]
[[Category:Trees of Africa]]
[[Category:Afrotropical realm flora]]
[[Category:Afrotropical realm flora]]
[[Category:Flora of East Africa]]
[[Category:Flora of Kenya]]
[[Category:Flora of Southern Africa]]
[[Category:Flora of Malawi]]
[[Category:Flora of West Tropical Africa]]
[[Category:Flora of Mozambique]]
[[Category:Trees of South Africa]]
[[Category:Flora of the Northern Provinces]]
[[Category:Flora of Tanzania]]
[[Category:Flora of Zimbabwe]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1894]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1894]]

Latest revision as of 08:12, 3 April 2022

Knobbly fig
The nominate subsp. in the Kruger Park
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Moraceae
Genus: Ficus
Species:
F. sansibarica
Binomial name
Ficus sansibarica
Warb. 1894
Synonyms[2]
  • F. brachylepis Welw. ex Hiern
  • F. delagoensis T. R. Sim
  • F. gossweileri Hutch.[1]
  • F. langenburgii Warb.
  • F. ugandensis Hutch.
  • F. zanzibarica Boeck. ex Engl.

The Ficus sansibarica, known as knobbly fig, is an African species of cauliflorous fig. It is named after Zanzibar, where Franz Stuhlmann discovered it in 1889.[3] They often begin life as epiphytes, which assume a strangling habit as they develop.[4] They regularly reach 10 m, but may grow up to 40 m tall as forest stranglers.[1]

Range and habitat

[edit]

It occurs in the African tropics and subtropics from coastal elevations to 900 m above sea level.[5] The nominate subspecies has an easterly distribution, but extends westwards up the Zambezi Valley.[6]

They are found in coastal, riverine and evergreen forests or woodland, and in miombo woodlands. They are locally cultivated in parks,[6] villages[4] or bush camps. They prefer deep sandy soil and often start life as a strangler.[7][8] The pollinating wasp is Courtella armata.[5]

Description

[edit]

The light grey bark is fairly smooth, though lumpy and folded.[1] The smooth leaves are up to 13 cm long and oblong-obovate.[8] They have parallel sides and are carried on slender petioles.[1]

The large (up to 5 cm), bitter-tasting figs appear in groups of 2 or 3 during the summer months.[1] They are cauliflorous, growing on the characteristic wart-like, leafless branchlets on the trunk and main branches (i.e. old wood).[7]

F. chirindensis of the forests of southeastern Zimbabwe and adjacent Mozambique is similar, but has the leaves more oval, often has buttress roots,[7] and bears the small (1.5 cm) figs in stalked pairs on second year branches.[1]

Uses

[edit]

The raw figs are used for food, and are locally believed to promote fertility. Stems are torn apart to obtain fibers for basket weaving.[4] Locally it is also deemed sacred.

Subspecies and status

[edit]

The species is deemed critically endangered in Eswatini, where most are located in proposed sugar cane expansion areas near Sihoye.[9] On Inhaca Island however, it is held sacred by most communities, and is scrupulously protected.[3]

[edit]
  • Foliage
    Foliage
  • Figs on wart-like branchlets
    Figs on wart-like branchlets
  • Figs carried on spurs
    Figs carried on spurs

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f Palgrave, K.C. (1984). Trees of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik. pp. 114–115. ISBN 0-86977-081-0.
  2. ^ "Ficus sansibarica Warb". The Plant List. Version 1. 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  3. ^ a b Mtsweni, Patrick. "Ficus sansibarica Warb". PlantZAfrica.com. SANBI. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  4. ^ a b c Fern, Ken (2019). "Ficus sansibarica Warb. Moraceae". Tropical Plants Database. tropical.theferns.info. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  5. ^ a b Van Noort; et al. "Ficus sansibarica sansibarica Warburg 1894". Figweb. iziko museums. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  6. ^ a b Berg, C. C. (1991). "Ficus sansibarica subsp. sansibarica [family MORACEAE]". Flora Zambesiaca. 9 (6). JSTOR Global Plants: 13. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Van Wyk, Braam; et al. (1997). Field Guide to the Trees of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik. p. 78. ISBN 1-86825-922-6.
  8. ^ a b Palmer, Eve (1977). A Field Guide to the Trees of Southern Africa. London, Johannesburg: Collins. pp. 89–90. ISBN 0-620-05468-9.
  9. ^ "SABONET Report No. 38" (PDF). Moraceae. p. 119. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
[edit]
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