''Ficus crassiuscula'' is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...
in the family
Moraceae
The Moraceae — often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants comprising about 38 genera and over 1100 species. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however ...
, native to Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama) and north-western parts of South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela).
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Taxonomy
''Ficus crassiuscula'' was first described in 1917.[ In the 1960 ''Flora of Panama'' Gordon P. DeWolf Jr. considered this species to be a ]synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are al ...
of the non-climbing ''F. insipida'',[
With about 750 species, '']Ficus
''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extendi ...
'' (Moraceae
The Moraceae — often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants comprising about 38 genera and over 1100 species. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however ...
) is one of the largest angiosperm
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants ...
genera.polyphyletic
A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...
, section ''Pharmacosycea'' appears to be monophyletic
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gr ...
and is a sister group
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree.
Definition
The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram:
Taxon A and ...
to the rest of the genus ''Ficus''.
Description
Among the fig species in subgenus ''Pharmacosycea'', ''Ficus crassiuscula'' is quite unique: all the other species are tall, non-climbing, free-growing trees, but ''F. crassiuscula'' instead starts its life as an epiphyte (it is a hemiepiphyte), usually germinating near the ground on the lower tree trunk. It spreads from here as a vine, which roots freely at its nodes in order to climb. As a juvenile it also spreads along the ground, sometimes eventually forming a sprawling thicket - this enables the plant to find its favourite host trees. Eventually parts of it change from a vine to sapling with erect stems, which may eventually become the mature tree, this transformation usually occur when the vine has reached the crotch of a branch or the top of a tree stump.[
When mature, it is 20 to 35 meters tall. The leaves are ovoid and shiny, reaching 7cm wide and 16cm long. It flowers February to April and bears warty, yellow-green fruit that are 4 to 6 cm in diameter.]
Ecology
It is found in lower montane rainforests.[ In ]Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, ''F. crassiuscula'' is found in cloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud ...
above 1550 meters in altitude.[ Although it is a free-standing tree when mature, ''F. crassiuscula'' begins its growth as a climbing vine. It clings to a mature tree, eventually strangling it. Its favoured hosts are '' Guarea tuisana'' and '' Sapium pachystachys'', and it is also frequently found on already-dead trees.][
Monkeys feed on fruits while they are still on the tree, and the fallen fruits are eaten by ]peccaries
A peccary (also javelina or skunk pig) is a medium-sized, pig-like hoofed mammal of the family Tayassuidae (New World pigs). They are found throughout Central and South America, Trinidad in the Caribbean, and in the southwestern area of North ...
.[
]
Uses
The wood is soft, but it is used for construction purposes where durability is not important.[
]
References
crassiuscula
Flora of Central America
Flora of northern South America
Flora of western South America
Plants described in 1917
{{Moraceae-stub