''Ficus lacunata'' is a species of

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

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 ...

which is

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 ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

. ''F. lacunata'' is a free-standing tree which grows up to 25 m (82 ft) tall in wet forests in the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. ''Ficus lacunata'' is member of the subgenus '' Pharmacosycea''. Members of this subgenus are free-standing trees. Most members of the other main Neotropical subgenus, '' Urostigma'' begin life as

hemiepiphyte A hemiepiphyte is a plant that spends part of its life cycle as an epiphyte. The seeds of primary hemiepiphytes germinate in the canopy and initially live epiphytically. They send roots downward, and these roots eventually make contact with th ...

s. It grows in

pluvial In geology and climatology, a pluvial is either a modern climate characterized by relatively high precipitation or an interval of time of variable length, decades to thousands of years, during which a climate is characterized by relatively high ...

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial ...

on the western slope of the

, 1800 to 2200 m (5900 to 6600 mft) above sea level. It has been classified as a

Vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Vulnera ...

based on the fact that it is known from only three locations.

Description

''Ficus lacunata'' trees grow up to 25 m (82 ft) tall. Its leaves range from roughly oval in shape to more narrow with a leathery texture. They range in length from 15 to 21 cm (6–8 in) and in width from 7–10.5 cm (3–4 in). The figs are borne singly on a short petiole up to 1.1 cm (0.4 in) long and are 2–2.9 cm (0.8–1.1 in) in diameter.

References

lacunata Endemic flora of Ecuador Trees of Ecuador Plants described in 1997 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Moraceae-stub