Ficus tiliifolia — Edible Plant Database

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit

The fruit are eaten.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It grows in woodland and savannah up to 1,700 m above sea level.

Africa, Comoros, East Africa, Madagascar,

Countries: Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Comoros, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A fig. It is a tree. It grows 15 m tall. The leaves are broadly oval. The fruit is a flattened round shape. It is 15-25 mm across.

How to Grow

The pollinating wasp is Ceratosolen stupefactus Wiebes.

Other Uses

A fibre obtained from the bark is used to make textiles and nets.

Other Information

It is occasionally cultivated.

Notes

There are about 800-1000 Ficus species. They are mostly in the tropics. There are 120 Ficus species in tropical America.

Names & Synonyms

Gonda, Voara, Voara dambo, Voara tenany

Ficus pulvinifera BakerFicus sphaerophylla BakerFicus tiliifolia var. ambrensis H. PerrierFicus tiliifolia var. sphaerophylla (Baker) H. Perrier & LeandriFicus trichophlebia Baker

References (4)

Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 138
J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 21:443. 1885 "tiliaefolia"
Styger, E., et al, 1999, Indigenous fruit trees of Madagascar: potential components of agroforestry systems to improve human nutrition and restore biological diversity. Agroforestry Systems 46: 289-310
www.figweb.org