''Ficus variegata'' is a well distributed species of tropical

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 ...

. It occurs in many parts of Asia, islands of the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

and as far south east as

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 ...

. There is a large variety of local common names including common red stem fig, green fruited fig and variegated fig. A non strangling fig which may reach 30 metres in height. The tree is evergreen when young but becomes briefly

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 ...

as it grows older. In Australia the fruit are eaten by

cassowaries Cassowaries (; Biak language, Biak: ''man suar'' ; ; Papuan_languages, Papuan: ''kasu weri'' ) are flightless birds of the genus ''Casuarius'', in the order Casuariiformes. They are classified as ratites, flightless birds without a keel (bird a ...

and

double-eyed fig parrot The double-eyed fig parrot (''Cyclopsitta diophthalma''), also known as the blue-faced fig parrot, red-faced fig parrot, dwarf fig parrot, and the two-eyed fig parrot, primarily inhabits forests on New Guinea and nearby islands, but is also found ...

s. ''Ficus variegata'' is

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

, with male and female flowers produced on separate individuals.

Taxonomy

''Ficus variegata'' has been described by

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 1825. In 1965,

E. J. H. Corner Edred John Henry Corner FRS (12 January 1906 – 14 September 1996) was an English mycologist and botanist who occupied the posts of assistant director at the Singapore Botanic Gardens (1929–1946) and Professor of Tropical Botany at the Univ ...

updated the species by putting some other ''Ficus'' in synonymy with ''F. variegata'' varieties. Five were listed: ''F. variegata'' var. ''variegata'' distributed on all the species range, ''F. variegata'' var. ''chlorocarpa'' from South

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 ...

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

Island and

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 ...

, ''F. variegata'' var. ''garciae'' described as inhabitant of the Pacific Islands (

Ryukyu The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara and A ...

islands,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

and

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

), ''F. variegata'' var. ''ilangoides'' in

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

and northern

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

, and ''F. variegata'' var. ''sycomoroides'' in the Philippines and Borneo. Recently, all the varieties have been synonymized under ''Ficus variegata''. ''Ficus variegata'' belongs to the subgenus ''Sycomorus'' section ''Sycomorus'' subsection ''Neomorphe''. Ficus variegata young figs

Ficus variegata pollinated figs and parasitic wasps

Ecology

''Ficus variegata'' is pollinated by fig wasps from the genus ''

Ceratosolen ''Ceratosolen'' is an Old World wasp genus in the family Agaonidae (fig wasps). They are pollinators of the monoecious fig subsections ''Sycomorus'' and ''Sycocarpus'', and the section ''Neomorphe'', all belonging to the subgenus ''Sycomorus''. ...

'' as are all the fig species from the subgenus ''Sycomorus''. The figs of ''Ficus variegata'' have been reported to be eaten by 41 animal species (5 birds, 15 bats, 7 monkeys, 7

marsupial Marsupials are a diverse group of mammals belonging to the infraclass Marsupialia. They are natively found in Australasia, Wallacea, and the Americas. One of marsupials' unique features is their reproductive strategy: the young are born in a r ...

s): *

Southern cassowary The southern cassowary (''Casuarius casuarius''), also known as double-wattled cassowary, Australian cassowary, or two-wattled cassowary, is a large Flightless bird, flightless black bird, found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and northeastern ...

Blyth's hornbill Blyth's hornbill (''Rhyticeros plicatus''), also known as the Papuan hornbill, is a large hornbill inhabiting the forest canopy in Wallacea and Melanesia. Its local name in Tok Pisin is ''kokomo''. Previously, this hornbill was placed in the ge ...

Yellow-crested cockatoo The yellow-crested cockatoo (''Cacatua sulphurea'') also known as the lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo, is a medium-sized (about 34-cm-long) cockatoo with white plumage, bluish-white bare orbital skin, grey feet, a black bill, and a retractile ye ...

Double-eyed fig parrot The double-eyed fig parrot (''Cyclopsitta diophthalma''), also known as the blue-faced fig parrot, red-faced fig parrot, dwarf fig parrot, and the two-eyed fig parrot, primarily inhabits forests on New Guinea and nearby islands, but is also found ...

Japanese white-eye The Japanese white-eye (''Zosterops japonicus'') is a former species designation of birds in the white-eye family. Since 2018, it has been divided into two species: * Swinhoe's white-eye, ''Zosterops simplex'' * Warbling white-eye The warbling w ...

Common echymipera The common echymipera (''Echymipera kalubu''), or common spiny bandicoot, is a bandicoot. It is long-snouted even by bandicoot standards. The upper parts are a coarse reddish-brown, flecked with spiny buff and black hairs. The tail is short and a ...

Long-nosed echymipera The long-nosed echymipera (''Echymipera rufescens''), or long-nosed spiny bandicoot, is a species of marsupial in the family Peramelidae. It is found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dr ...

Raffray's bandicoot Raffray's bandicoot (''Peroryctes raffrayana'') is a species of marsupial in the family Peroryctidae. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is known as pakam in the Kalam la ...

Ground cuscus The ground cuscus (''Phalanger gymnotis'') is a marsupial from the order Diprotodontia and belongs within the family Phalangeridae, a diverse family consisting of the other cuscus species and the brushtail possums ('' Trichosurus'' spp.) and t ...

Northern common cuscus The northern common cuscus (''Phalanger orientalis''), also known as the gray cuscus, is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae native to northern New Guinea and adjacent smaller islands, but is now also found in the Bismarck Archipela ...

* Stein's cuscus *

Common spotted cuscus The common spotted cuscus (''Spilocuscus maculatus''), also known as the white cuscus, is a cuscus, a marsupial that lives in the Cape York region of Australia, New Guinea, and nearby smaller islands. Names It is known as or in the Kalam la ...

Lesser short-nosed fruit bat The lesser short-nosed fruit bat (''Cynopterus brachyotis'') is a species of megabat within the family Pteropodidae. It is a small bat that lives in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It weighs between , and measures . It occurs in many types of habi ...

Horsfield's fruit bat Horsfield's fruit bat (''Cynopterus horsfieldii'') is a species of megabat native to South East Asia. It is named for Thomas Horsfield, an American naturalist who presented the type specimen to the British Museum. Description Horsfield's fruit ba ...

Greater short-nosed fruit bat The greater short-nosed fruit bat (''Cynopterus sphinx''), or short-nosed Indian fruit bat, is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae found in South and Southeast Asia. Description These bats have a relatively long snout. Their upper pa ...

Indonesian short-nosed fruit bat The Indonesian short-nosed fruit bat (''Cynopterus titthaecheilus'') is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to Indonesia and Timor-Leste Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republi ...

New Guinea naked-backed fruit bat The New Guinea naked-backed fruit bat (''Dobsonia magna'' or ''Dobsonia moluccensis magna'') is a species of megabat native to Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian islands of Waigeo, Yapen, Batanta, and Misool Misool, formerly spelled Mysol (D ...

Lesser naked-backed fruit bat The lesser naked-backed fruit bat (''Dobsonia minor'') is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island co ...

Long-tongued fruit bat The long-tongued fruit bat (''Macroglossus sobrinus'') is a species of megabat. It is nectarivorous, feeding on nectar from primarily banana flowers. It is found in several countries in South and Southeast Asia. Taxonomy and etymology It was de ...

Broad-striped tube-nosed fruit bat The broad-striped tube-nosed fruit bat (''Nyctimene aello''), also known as the greater tube-nosed bat is a species of megabat in the genus '' Nyctimene''. It is found in West Papua, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and central Philippines. In 1912 ...

Common tube-nosed fruit bat The common tube-nosed fruit bat (''Nyctimene albiventer'') is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is found at islands north of Australia, and in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and the Solomon Islands. Taxonomy Th ...

Eastern tube-nosed bat The eastern or Queensland tube-nosed bat (''Nyctimene robinsoni'') is a megabat in the family Pteropodidae that lives in north-eastern Australia. ''N. robinsoni'' is one of the few species of megabat that roosts solitarily. They get their common ...

* Lesser tube-nosed fruit bat *

Greater musky fruit bat The greater musky fruit bat (''Ptenochirus jagori'') is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to the Philippines. It was named by Peters for Fedor Jagor. Taxonomy The greater musky fruit bat was described as a new spec ...

* Great flying fox *

Geoffroy's rousette Geoffroy's rousette (''Rousettus amplexicaudatus'') is a species of megabat or Old World fruit bats. It is one of ten species in the genus ''Rousettus''. Distribution Geoffroy's rousette occurs throughout Southeast Asia and in the Malesia region ...

Common blossom bat The common blossom bat (''Syconycteris australis'') also known as the southern blossom bat or Queensland blossom bat, is a megabat in the family Pteropodidae. The common blossom bat feeds mostly on nectar and pollen rather than fruit. It is one o ...

Celebes crested macaque The Celebes crested macaque (''Macaca nigra''), also known as the crested black macaque, Sulawesi crested macaque, or the black ape, is an Old World monkey that lives in the tropical regions of north Sulawesi. Description Locally known as ''yaki' ...

Javan surili The Javan surili (''Presbytis comata'') is a vulnerable species of Old World monkey endemic to the western half of Java, Indonesia, a biodiversity hotspot. Other common names by which it is known by include gray, grizzled or Sunda Island surili; ...

Red-shanked douc The red-shanked douc (''Pygathrix nemaeus'') is an arboreal and diurnal Old World monkey belonging to the Colobinae subfamily. They are endemic to Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. They are known for their bright colors and exhibit sexual dimorphism ...

* Lar gibbon *

Silvery gibbon The silvery gibbon (''Hylobates moloch''), also known as the Javan gibbon, is a primate in the gibbon family Hylobatidae. It is endemic to the Indonesian island of Java, where it inhabits undisturbed rainforests up to an altitude of . It has been ...

Agile gibbon The agile gibbon (''Hylobates agilis''), also called the black-handed gibbon, is an Old World primate, and is a part of the gibbon family. It is native to Indonesia, specifically, on the island of Sumatra. The agile gibbon can also be found in ...

Bornean orangutan The Bornean orangutan (''Pongo pygmaeus'') is an orangutan species endemic to the island of Borneo. It belongs to the only genus of great apes native to Asia and is the largest of the three ''Pongo'' species. It has a coarse, reddish coat and up ...

Black rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...

References

variegata Trees of China Trees of Taiwan Trees of Thailand Trees of Malesia Trees of Australia Flora of Queensland Flora of the Ryukyu Islands Dioecious plants {{Moraceae-stub