Bark
Thin, brownish to reddish-brown bark on slender, woody branches; young branchlets may be shortly hairy. Milky latex is present when the plant is cut.
Ficus heterophylla
Syn. Ficus cannabina
IUCN Red List
Not Evaluated
(NE)
Local name
- Creeping Fig (English)
- Datir (Marathi)
- Trayamana (Sanskrit)
Shrub type
Evergreen
Deciduous
Family: Moraceae
3m
Indicated uses
Medicinal
Edible
Ornamental
Avenue
Other
Flowering & fruiting
Flowering
Fruiting
Key characters
Leaves
Leaves are alternate, elliptic-oblong, young ones pinnately 5-7 lobed, 5-7 by 2-3 cm, base rounded, margin sawtoothed, tip tapering, 3-nerved from base, lateral nerves 5-7 pairs, rough, thin-leathery.
Flower
Figs are borne singly in leaf-axils, dioecious, broadly ellipsoid, about 1 cm across; basal bracts ovate, closed by 4-6 apical bracts; tepals 3, linear-lanceate.
Fruit / Seeds
Male flowers are in 2-3 series, stalked; stamen 1. Female ones are stalkless; ovary ovoid. Achenes are shortly ellipsoid, surface with a transparent membrane.
Did you know?
Ficus heterophylla stands out by keeping its twigs completely solid, adding structural integrity to withstand strong currents during river flooding.
Distribution
India to China (S. Yunnan, Guangdong) and W. Malesia