'Ficus cyathistipula', the African fig tree, is a species of

fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

that is native to the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

forest regions of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. They may be small trees, shrubs or hemi-epiphytic lianas, and are widespread in the moist tropics, where they may be found in Afromontane or rainforest, often overhanging pools. The figs are reddish when ripe, and have thick, spongy walls that enable them to float on water. They are named for their cup-shaped (''cyathus''-) and persistent

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). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

s (''stipula'').

Range and habitat

It ranges from the Ivory Coast in the west, to western Kenya and northern Malawi in the east. In the south it occurs in northern Angola, northern Zambia, and at

Mount Namuli Mount Namuli is the second highest mountain in Mozambique and the highest in the Province of Zambezia. It is high and was measured, surveyed and described in 1886 by Henry Edward O'Neill, the British consul in Mozambique. The Namuli massif con ...

in Zambezia, Mozambique. They grow beside forested streams or rivers, or in swamps where they overhang pools, and on inselbergs and rock outcrops, from sea level to 1,800 m.

Description

''Ficus cyathistipula'' is an evergreen tree, growing to in height. It has dark and flaky bark. The trunk is thin and branches readily, and may form

adventitious Important structures in plant development are buds, shoots, roots, leaves, and flowers; plants produce these tissues and structures throughout their life from meristems located at the tips of organs, or between mature tissues. Thus, a living plan ...

roots for support. The dark, glabrous and leathery leaves are up to 7 cm wide and some 20 cm long. Their venation is limited to some 5 to 8 lateral nerves. The leaves are ovoid to oblanceolate and blunt towards the tip, except near the leaf spine. They are arranged in a spiral, on petioles of up to 4 cm long. The globose syconia (i.e. figs) grow solitary or up to three together in leaf axils, on peduncles of up to 2.5 cm long, or may be

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

. They measure up to 5 cm in diameter and are initially greenish yellow to whitish, and flecked pale yellow, but ripen to a reddish colour.

Subspecies

Subspecies include: * ''Ficus cyathistipula'' subsp. ''cyathistipula'' Warburg 1894 — tropical Africa * ''Ficus cyathistipula'' subsp. ''pringsheimiana'' (Braun & K. Schum.) C.C. Berg 1988 —

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to West African lowland rainforests.Gbif.org: ''Ficus cyathistipula'' subsp. ''pringsheimiana'
/ref>

Species associations

''Ficus cyathistipula'' subsp. ''cyathistipula'' is pollinated by '' Agaon fasciatum'' Waterston.. ''Ficus cyathistipula'' subsp. ''pringsheimiana'', which is endemic to

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

n lowland rainforests in

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

and

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

, is pollinated by the wasp '' Agaon kiellandi'' Wiebes..

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15475138 cyathistipula Afrotropical realm flora Flora of Northeast Tropical Africa Flora of West-Central Tropical Africa Flora of East Tropical Africa Flora of South Tropical Africa Plants described in 1894