''Ficus exasperata'', also called the sandpaper tree, forest sandpaper fig, white fig, or sandpaper leaf tree, is a deciduous, and dioecious species of plant in the mulberry 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 tropical Africa (an area from Senegal east to Ethiopia and south to Angola and Mozambique) and southern Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Yemen).

Description

Sandpaper tree is a small to medium-sized tree in the

banyan A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...

group of figs, growing to . The trunk develops aerial and buttressing roots to anchor it in the soil and help support heavy branches. It has almost distichous and alternate which are almost opposite, simple; blade ovate to elliptical or obovate; base acute to obtuse; apex shortly acuminate, acute or obtuse; and margin toothed to entire. Flowers are unisexual and are pink, purplish, or yellow, becomes orange or red at maturity.

Growth and Development

Fruit is a syconium and trees may be either female or hermaphrodite. Hermaphrodite trees are functionally male. The tree is known to pollinated by the wasp '' Kradibia gestroi'', where the female lays eggs in female trees with only short-styles. Besides sexual reproduction, the tree may grow with vegetative means propagated by seed and cuttings.

Uses

Sandpaper tree is widely used as a source of

sandpaper upright=1.35, Sheets of sandpaper with different grit sizes (40 (coarse), 80, 150, 240, 600 (fine)). Sandpaper and glasspaper are names used for a type of coated abrasive that consists of sheets of paper or cloth with abrasive material glued to ...

and as a valuable medicinal plant. Extracts from the tree are used for their anti-ulcer, hypotensive, lipid-lowering, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties.

References

External links

Antiarthritic and antioxidant effects of the leaf extract of ''Ficus exasperata'' P. Beauv. (Moraceae)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15473516 exasperata Ornamental trees Trees of Africa Flora of India (region) Flora of Sri Lanka Flora of Yemen Dioecious plants