Ficus barteri
Sprague
(c) junnkaiii, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Wikimedia Commons - Ji-Elle
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
The figs are eaten fresh, though they are not widely used as a food source.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It grows in dense humid forest in West Africa. It grows in seasonally flooded forests. It grows up to 1,200 m above sea level.
Africa, Benin, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo DR, East Africa, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, Uganda, West Africa, Zambia,
How to Identify
A fig. It is a small shrub. It is a strangler fig growing attached to other plants. It grows 8 m high. The leaves are very narrow. They are up to 40 cm long. It has aerial roots that hang down.
How to Grow
The pollinating wasp is Agaon paradoxum Dalman.
Other Information
The figs are not widely used.
Notes
There are about 800-1000 Ficus species. They are mostly in the tropics. There are 120 Ficus species in tropical America.
Names & Synonyms
A-kolokolo, Golo, Gonwe
References (9)
- Abbiw, D.K., 1990, Useful Plants of Ghana. West African uses of wild and cultivated plants. Intermediate Technology Publications and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. p 47
- Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 4. Kew.
- Busson, 1965,
- Dalziel, J. M., 1937, The Useful plants of west tropical Africa. Crown Agents for the Colonies London.
- FAO, 1988, Traditional Food Plants, FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 42. FAO Rome p 281
- Gard. Chron. ser. 3, 33:354. 1903
- Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 136
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 149
- www.figweb.org
