''Ficus altissima'', commonly known as the council tree and lofty fig, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

, a

fig tree ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family (biology), family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few spe ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Moraceae Moraceae is a family of flowering plants comprising about 48 genera and over 1100 species, and is commonly known as the mulberry or fig family. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however, their ...

. It is a large, stately

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

hemiepiphyte and is native to

southeastern Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia is ...

Description

''Ficus altissima'' is a large, evergreen forest tree, growing to , with a spreading crown and often multiple buttressed trunks and characteristic of its subgenus ''Urostigma''. The bark is smooth and grey, with small pale brown pustules. The branches are spreading and the twigs are hairy and often green when young. The leaves are alternate, elliptic to ovate, with entire margins and up to . They are supported on short stalks and have sheathing

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole (botany), petiole). They are primarily found among dicots and rare among monocots. Stipules are considered part ...

s. The flowers are solitary or in pairs and are in the axils of the leaves. They are concealed inside hollow receptacles which grow into orangish-red, many-seeded. figs following pollination.

Distribution and habitat

''Ficus altissima'' is native to southeastern Asia and many islands in the Pacific. Its range includes the

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a mari ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

South China South China ( zh, s=, p=Huá'nán, j=jyut6 naam4) is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is ...

and the

Malesia Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms. It is a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical kingdom. It was first recognized as a distinct region ...

region. It was first described by the Dutch botanist

Carl Ludwig Blume Charles Ludwig de Blume or Karl Ludwig von Blume (9 June 1796 – 3 February 1862) was a German-Dutch botanist and entomologist who spent most of his professional life in the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies. As deputy director of agricul ...

in 1826 from Java. It has become naturalized in some of the southern counties of Florida. It grows in mountains and plains.

Common Names

Vernacular names include: * Chinese: 高山榕 ''gao shan rong'' * Vietnamese: ''đa tía'' (sometimes ''đa rất cao'': ''i.e.'' "very tall") * Myanmar; "Nyaung Moat Seit"

Ecology

''Ficus altissima'' is a "strangler fig", often starting life as an

epiphyte An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

, on trees such as ''

Lagerstroemia ''Lagerstroemia'' (), commonly known as crape myrtle (also spelled crepe myrtle or crêpe myrtle), is a genus of around 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Australia ...

'' (as illustrated above) or palms, sending down roots to the ground which in time grow stout enough to support the growing tree independently. By this time the

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...

tree has been overwhelmed and killed. It can also grow as a

lithophyte Lithophytes are plants that grow in or on rocks. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are als ...

in a crevice in a rock or a man made structure. It is sometimes planted as a shade tree but has a wide root system and is unsuitably large for most urban areas. ''Ficus altissima'' is one of many trees that hosts lac insects,

scale insect Scale insects are small insects of the Order (biology), order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient g ...

s in the superfamily

Coccoidea Scale insects are small insects of the Order (biology), order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient g ...

, from which the dye

lac Lac may refer to: Places Africa * Lac Region, a district in Chad * Lac Prefecture, a district in Chad America * Rivière du Lac, a tributary of the Montmorency River, in Capitale-Nationale, Quebec, Canada Europe * Laç, a city in Albania * Lac ...

is obtained. It has been planted in southern Florida, where it didn't seed because there weren't any native insects available to pollinate the flowers. However, non-native wasps ('' Eupristina'' sp.), that have become established in the area, seem capable of pollinating it and the tree is now proliferating and becoming invasive.

Cultivation

A cultivar 'Yellow Gem' is a variegated variety with yellow tinted leaves.

Gallery

File:Ficus altissima1.jpg File:HK Park Ficus altissima 高山榕 Saturday 1.JPG File:Ficus altissima DSCN1381.jpg File:HKCL CWB tree 高山榕 Ficus altissima Oct-2013 009.JPG File:HKCL CWB tree 高山榕 Ficus altissima Oct-2013 005.JPG File:Ficus altissima allee - Marie Selby Botanical Gardens - Sarasota, Florida - DSC01331.jpg, Botanical specimens in the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens,

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its official limits include Sarasota Ba ...

, Florida File:Ficus altissima3.jpg, Variegated variety File:FicusAltissima SydBG-20171107-3b.jpg, A mature tree in

Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney is a heritage-listed major botanical garden, event venue and public recreation area located at Farm Cove, New South Wales, Farm Cove on the eastern fringe of the Sydney central business district, in the City of ...

File:Ficus altissima 1z 01.jpg, Ficus altissima / Council tree File:Ficus altissima 1z 03.jpg, Ficus altissima / Council tree File:Ficus altissima 1z 07.jpg, Ficus altissima / Council tree File:Ficus altissima 1z 05.jpg, Ficus altissima / Council tree

References

External links

* * {{taxonbar, from=Q4921039 altissima Flora of China Flora of tropical Asia Plants described in 1826