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African Fig Tree

Ficus cyathistipula

African Fig Tree
Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 3.0
Family
Moraceae (Fig & mulberry family)
Grows as
Tree, Epiphyte
Water
Likes moisture
Safety
Toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA).
Native range
Trop. Africa
Climate
wet tropical

About

''Ficus cyathistipula'', the African fig tree, is a species of fig that is native to the tropical forest regions of Africa. They may be small trees, shrubs or hemi-epiphytic lianas, and are widespread in the moist tropics, where they may be found in Afromontane or rainforest, often overhanging pools. The figs are reddish when ripe, and have thick, spongy walls that enable them to float on water. They are named for their cup-shaped (cyathus-) and persistent stipules (stipula).

Where it grows

It ranges from the Ivory Coast in the west, to western Kenya and northern Malawi in the east. In the south it occurs in northern Angola, northern Zambia, and at Mount Namuli in Zambezia, Mozambique. They grow beside forested streams or rivers, or in swamps where they overhang pools, and on inselbergs and rock outcrops, from sea level to 1,800 m.

Other Ficus plants

Large-leaved rock fig · Figwood · Ficus adhatodifolia · Ficus albert-smithii · Abbey tree · Council tree · Ficus amazonica · Ficus americana subsp. greiffiana · Jamaican cherry fig · Ficus ampelos · Indian Bat Fig · Ficus andamanica

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ficus cyathistipula by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.

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