''Ficus henneana'' is a strangler fig only occurring in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Previously considered a

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

of ''

Ficus superba ''Ficus superba'', also known as sea fig or deciduous fig, is a hemiepiphytic tree of genus ''Ficus''. It is one of the species known as banyans or "strangler figs" because of its potential to grow as a hemi-epiphyte and eventually progress t ...

'' which occurs in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and parts of

South East Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. The cedar fig or deciduous fig grows in Australia from

Milton, New South Wales Milton is a village in the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, within the City of Shoalhaven. It was founded in 1860, named after the property of post master George Knight and became an important regi ...

to northern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

. The habitat is riverine, littoral or the drier forms of

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

. The fruit is considered edible for humans, but it is not particularly palatable.

Collection and naming

This Australian variety was named after

Diedrich Henne Diedrich Henne (1834 – 21 January 1913) was a German-born botanist and plant collector. He emigrated to Australia and was employed as an assistant to the colonial botanist Ferdinand von Mueller at the Melbourne Herbarium. Henne was one of a ...

, who collected this plant at Booby Island in the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( Kalaw Lagaw Ya#Phonology 2, �zen̪ad̪ kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, ...

in 1861. In 1868 it was named ''Ficus henneana''.

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English Natural history, naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the European and American voyages of scientific exploration, 1766 natural-history ...

also collected this plant from the Booby Island on August 23, 1770. That specimen may have been from the same tree as Henne's specimen, (as the island is so small). Banks' plant was named in 1901 after the Endeavor's artist

Sydney Parkinson Sydney Parkinson ( 1745 – 26 January 1771) was a Scottish botanical illustrator and natural history artist. He was the first European artist to visit Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti. Parkinson was the first Quaker to visit New Zealand. ...

, (Ficus parkinsonii). However, this name fell out of favour as ''Ficus henneana'' was already named in 1868. The specific epithet ''superba'' is from Latin referring to "outstanding" or "superb". The plant has had other scientific names, such as ''Ficus gracilipes'', ''Ficus pritzelii'' and ''Urostigma superbum''. The tree is semi

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

, seldom losing all leaves. It may be seen almost bare of leaves in the month of October. In 2013, the species was reassigned to the original name of ''Ficus henneana'', as described by Friedrich Miquel. Booby Island aerial

Description

''Ficus henneana'' can grow to in height in the best sites, or a smaller spreading tree on exposed rocky slopes. Like other strangler figs it is a

hemi-epiphyte A hemiepiphyte is a plant that spends part of its life cycle as an epiphyte. The seeds of primary hemiepiphytes germinate in the canopy and initially live epiphytically. They send roots downward, and these roots eventually make contact with th ...

. The bark is grey or reddish brown. Rough with scales, cracks and vertical bumps. The base of the tree is buttressed, but not as prominently as in the

Moreton Bay fig ''Ficus macrophylla'', commonly known as the Moreton Bay fig or Australian banyan, is a large evergreen banyan tree of the mulberry and fig family Moraceae. It is native to eastern Australia, from the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland i ...

. White sap appears when a branch is cut. Leaves are alternate, simple and entire, long and wide. Oval or elliptical in shape. Mostly with a short blunt tip. Rounded at the base or heart shaped. This tree can be identified in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

by the long leaf stem long. The leaf midrib is sunken on the upper surface and raised below.

Reproduction

Flowers form within a translucent receptacle, a

syconium Syconium (: syconia) is the type of fruit borne by figs (genus ''Ficus''), formed by an enlarged, fleshy, hollow receptacle with multiple ovaries on the inside surface. In essence, it is really a fleshy stem with a number of flowers, so it is co ...

. Flowers pollinated by

fig wasp Fig wasps are wasps of the superfamily Chalcidoidea which spend their larval stage inside fig syconia. Some are pollinators but others simply feed off the plant. The non-pollinators belong to several groups within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, ...

s within the fig. The mature fig changes to a purplish colour with pink dots, globular in shape, in diameter. Figs ripe from January to July, but sometimes appearing mature in different times of the year. The figs are eaten by a large variety of birds including the

Australasian figbird The Australasian figbird (''Sphecotheres vieilloti''), also known as the green figbird (not to be confused with the Green figbird, Timor figbird), is a conspicuous, medium-sized passerine bird native to a wide range of wooded habitats in northe ...

, Coxen's fig parrot,

green catbird The green catbird (''Ailuroedus crassirostris'') is a species of bowerbird found in subtropical forests along the east coast of Australia, from southeastern Queensland to southern New South Wales. It is named after its distinctive call which soun ...

Lewin's honeyeater Lewin's honeyeater (''Meliphaga lewinii'') is a bird that inhabits the ranges along the east coast of Australia. It has a semicircular ear-patch, pale yellow in colour. The name of this bird commemorates the Australian artist John Lewin. Another ...

regent bowerbird The regent bowerbird (''Sericulus chrysocephalus'') is a medium-sized, up to 25 cm long, sexually dimorphic bowerbird. The male bird is black with a golden orange-yellow crown, mantle and black-tipped wing feathers. It has yellow bill, black ...

rose crowned fruit dove The rose-crowned fruit dove (''Ptilinopus regina''), also known as pink-capped fruit dove or Swainson's fruit dove, is a medium-sized fruit dove that is found in parts of southern Indonesia, northern Australia and eastern Australia. Taxonomy Th ...

topknot pigeon The topknot pigeon (''Lopholaimus antarcticus'') is a pigeon native to eastern Australia. Taxonomy English naturalist George Shaw described the topknot pigeon as ''Columba antarctica'' in 1793. The topknot pigeon is sister taxon to a lineage t ...

wompoo fruit dove The wompoo fruit dove (''Ptilinopus magnificus''), also known as wompoo pigeon and "magnificent fruit dove" among others, is one of the larger fruit doves native to New Guinea and eastern Australia. Taxonomy The wompoo fruit dove was Species de ...

and yellow-eyed cuckoo-shrike. Regeneration is easy from fresh seed and cuttings. The ''

marcotting Layering is a vegetative propagation technique where the stem or branch of a plant is manipulated to promote root development while still attached to the parent plant. Once roots are established, the new plant can be detached from the parent an ...

'' technique of propagation is suited to ''Ficus henneana''.

Uses

Suited to parks and large gardens as an ornamental tree

Gallery

File:Ficus superba var. henneana leaves.jpg, Deciduous fig leaves, from

Maleny Maleny (pronounced ''muh-LAY-knee'') is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. Maleny was a timber town until the early 1920s and then was a centre of dairy production ...

File:Ficus superba var henneana trunk.JPG,

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

File:Ficus superba var henneana figs.JPG, Fallen figs -

File:Deciduous Fig Foxground NSW Australia.JPG, mature tree at Foxground

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q21269548, from2=Q5446643 henneana Rosales of Australia Trees of Australia Flora of Queensland Flora of New South Wales Ornamental trees Epiphytes Plants described in 1867