''Ficus dammaropsis'', called ''kapiak'' in

Tok Pisin Tok Pisin (,Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh ; Tok Pisin ), often referred to by English speakers as "New Guinea Pidgin" or simply Pidgin, is a creole language spoken throughout Papua New Guinea. It is an ...

, is a tropical

fig tree ''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 extending int ...

with huge pleated leaves across and up to 90 cm (3 feet) in length. It is native to the highlands and highlands fringe of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torres ...

. It generally grows at altitudes of between . Its fruit, the world's largest figs (

syconia Syconium (plural ''syconia'') is the type of inflorescence 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 flo ...

), up to six inches (15 centimeters) in diameter, are edible but rarely eaten except as an emergency food. They are pollinated by the tiny wasp ''Ceratosolon abnormis''. The young leaves are pickled or cooked and eaten as a vegetable with pig meat by highlanders. The lowland form of this species found commonly below 900 meters is recognized as a distinct species, '' Ficus brusii''. The species can be found at the

Melbourne Botanic Gardens Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria are botanic gardens across two sites–Melbourne and Cranbourne. Melbourne Gardens was founded in 1846 when land was reserved on the south side of the Yarra River for a new botanic garden. It extends across ...

, located in the ‘Yucca Bed’.

Cultivation

With its bold tropical leaves and relative tolerance of cold, ''F. dammaropsis'' is cultivated as an ornamental tree in frost-free climates.

References

* * dammaropsis Flora of New Guinea Flora of Papua New Guinea Flora of Western New Guinea Garden plants of Australasia Ornamental trees {{Moraceae-stub