Ficus sycomorus
L.
Sycamore fig
(c) Alan Manson, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Alan Manson
(c) Ricky Taylor, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Ricky Taylor
(c) Ricky Taylor, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Ricky Taylor
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit, Leaves, Vegetable, Bark, Gum
Fruit are eaten raw or dried and made into jam. They are eaten with millet and used to make alcoholic drinks. Young leaves are cooked in soups or peanut dishes. The latex is used as a vegetable rennet.
Known Hazards
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. They will grow on most soils. Soils need to be well drained. They prefer a sunny open position. It is drought and frost resistant. It is probably damaged by frost when in leaf. It can grow in hot and arid regions. It grows well near rivers. In Africa trees are commonly near rivers in dry regions. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall between 200-1,800 mm. It can grow in salty soils. It can grow in arid places. It grows in Miombo woodland in Africa. It grows in the Sahel. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.
Africa, Angola, Arabia, Asia, Australia, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Congo DR, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Djibouti, East Africa, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Europe, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Israel, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mediterranean, Middle East, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, North Africa, Oman, Palestine, Rwanda, Sahel, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tanzania, Turkey, Türkiye, Uganda, USA, West Africa, West Indies, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
How to Identify
A fig. It is a deciduous tree. It grows to 13-25 m high and spreads to 14 m across. It has a rounded crown. The stem is erect. Sometimes the stem has buttresses. The base of the tree commonly spreads over the ground. The bark is yellowish. The leaves are olive green, oval or almost round. They are 5-12 cm long and 3-10 cm wide. The leaves are rough and leathery. They are hairy. The edge of the leaf is wavy and roughly toothed. The leaf stalk is 3 cm long. In dry seasons the tree may lose its leaves. The flowers are 2 cm across and roundish. The fruit are small and edible. They are 3 cm across. They grow in dense clusters in the axils of leaves or on main branches and on the trunk. The fruit are yellow-red when ripe.
Nutrition Score: 28/100
| Part | Moisture | kJ | kcal | Protein | Vit A | Vit C | Iron | Zinc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruit | 83.9 | 239 | 57 | 0.5 | — | — | — | — |
| Fruit | 82.7 | 210 | 50 | 1.4 | — | 7.3 | 1.7 | 0.4 |
How to Grow
In the Mediterranean region sycamore figs do not set seed because the more tropical fig wasp does not occur there. In tropical places it can be grown from seeds. It can be grown by cuttings or layering. Trees can be pruned or lopped.
Propagation: Seed - viable seed is difficult to obtain. It germinates best at a temperature around 20°c. Branches with a diameter of 50-150 mm can be used as large cuttings planted direct into the soil. To avoid rotting of the tips, they must be left in the shade for a few days to dry before planting. Most of the leaves should be removed before planting in 1 metre deep holes with some sand at the bottom. This prevents rotting of the cuttings and stimulates root formation. Smaller cuttings can also be made from either the mature wood or from wood of the current season's growth. They are first planted in the nursery to induce rooting and then planted out in the field.
Medicinal Uses
Used in soups and peanut dishes as food.
Other Uses
The inner part of the root is used as weaving fibre, and a strong rope can be made from the inner bark. An abundant white latex flows from cuts in the stem. The bark is a dye sources for traditional 'bogolan' textiles, giving red-ochre to brownish colours. The wood is creamy brown, has a fairly uniform structure, is very light (air-dry 510 kg/m³), soft to moderately hard, tough, strong, easy to work, finishes smoothly and holds nails firmly. It is not very durable and is easily attacked by termites. Mainly used for making mortars and pestles, drums, stools, doors, beehives, dugout canoes, carvings and for house building. The wood can be used as firewood and for making charcoal. Various peoples throughout Africa use a piece of dry wood from this tree as the base block when starting a fire by the friction method. Grown as a shade tree in coffee plantations. Wild fig can be used for sand-dune fixation and riverbank stabilization. Shed leaves form a valuable litter improving the nutrient status, infiltration rate and water-holding capacity of the soil. Usually intercropped with bananas as an understorey.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Ficus sycomorus, called the sycamore fig or the fig-mulberry (because the leaves resemble those of the mulberry), sycamore, or sycomore, is a fig species that has been cultivated since ancient times.
Production
Trees are fairly fast growing. The young fruit are gashed to assist ripening. In Tanzania fruit are collected at the end of the rainy season.
Other Information
Fruit are widely eaten and sold in markets in the Middle East. The fruit are also commonly eaten by children. It is cultivated.
Notes
Biblical references Amos 7:14 There are about 800-1000 Ficus species. They are mostly in the tropics. There are 120 Ficus species in tropical America.
Names & Synonyms
Asses fig, Atielowinyo, Bamba, Barde, Bobi, Daray, Ebobore, Ebwalai, Ecalawinyo, Egyptian sycamore, Ejinga, Emidit, Engop, Eta, Figueira-branca, Fuqa, Ganyaya, Gomeiz, Harbu, Hillteta, Ibbi debbi, Ikuku, Ingaboli, Kajare, Kankanga, Katjere, Le'a, Mochaba, Mbuyo, Mkuu, Mkuwa, Mkuyu, Mochaba, Mogoboya, Msoho, Msombe, Mtsombe, Muhuyalukuse, Muhuyuvhuwa, Mukankanwa, Mukuiu, Mukumyu, Mukunyu, Mukuyu, Mulberry fig, Muonde, Mutole, Nkuwa, Nomas, Nshembe, Oda, Odaa, Olam, Ol-gnagboli, Omukwiyu, Orng'aboli, Ourof, Pharoah's fig, Saqam, Saqum, Shafa, Shola, Sou toro, Subula, Suqmi, Sycamore in the Bible, Trosvy, Umkhiwa, Wokoyo, Wola, Wuuri
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