Ficus glabella
Blume
Smooth fig
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
GBIF
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves
Young shoots are eaten, and the leaves are consumed as food.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It grows from sea level to 1,200 m above sea level. It grows in forests and open places. In Melbourne Botanical Gardens.
Asia, Himalayas, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, SE Asia,
How to Identify
A fig. It is a large tree. It start attached to and growing on other plants but later becomes an independent tree. It can be 57 m tall. The trunk is very thick and up to 4.5 m across. It has aerial roots. The small branches hang down. The leaves are alternate and are thin and rough. The are broadly oval and wedge shaped at the base. They taper to a short tip. They are shiny green and 5-10 cm long by 2-3 cm wide. The fruit are figs in the axils of fallen leaves. These do not have stalks. They are round with flattened tips. They are dark bluish purple when ripe. They can have yellow blotches. They are 50-75 mm across.
Medicinal Uses
The young shoots are traditionally used in Fijian practice.
Notes
There are about 800-1000 Ficus species. They are mostly in the tropics. There are 120 Ficus species in tropical America.
Names & Synonyms
Ampulu, Ara nasi, Bulu bras, Bulu jeraka, Bulu tambi, Bunut, Ipe, Iprih, Nyaung-pan, Nyaung-thabye, Phutalgo tussa, Phutkal sag, Wunut, Wunut banju
References (8)
- Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 222
- Bijdr. 452. 1825
- Burkill, I.H., 1966, A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol 1 (A-H) p 1026
- Heyne, K., 1927, p 571
- Marandi, R. R. & Britto, S. J., 2015, Medicinal Properties of Edible Weeds of Crop Fields and Wild plants Eaten by Oraon Tribals of Latehar District, Jharkhand. International Journal of Life Science and Pharma Research. Vo. 5. (2) April 2015
- Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 206
- Ochse, J.J. et al, 1931, Vegetables of the Dutch East Indies. Asher reprint. p 497
- Terra, G.J.A., 1973, Tropical Vegetables. Communication 54e Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, p 46
