''Ficus septica'' (called Hauili in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, 稜果榕 in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

) is a shrub or tree of 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 ...

living at low altitudes from northeast

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

to north

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

(

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

), and throughout Malesia. It lives on the edge of the vegetation, often in degraded environments. The seeds of this species are dispersed by numerous species, including fruit bats ( Megachiroptera) when present.

Taxonomy

''Ficus septica'' was described first by the Dutch botanist

Nicolaas Laurens Burman Nicolaas Laurens Burman (27 December 1734 – 11 September 1793) was a Dutch botanist. He was the son of Johannes Burman (1707–1780). He succeeded his father to the chair of botany at the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam., and at the Hortus ...

in 1768. Two centuries later, E. J. H. Corner listed three varieties for ''Ficus septica'': ''F. septica'' var. ''septica'' distributed all over the range of the species; ''F. septica'' var. ''cauliflora'' limited to

, Australia and the

Solomon islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

; and ''F. septica'' var. ''salicifolia'' endemic to the

Islands. Then in the latest

Flora Malesiana ''Flora Malesiana'' is a multi-volume flora describing the vascular plants of Malesia (the biogeographical region consisting of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea), published by the National Herbari ...

edition,

Cornelis Christiaan Berg Cornelis Christiaan (Cees) Berg (1934–2012) was a Dutch botanist known for his work on the plant family Moraceae. Early life and education Berg was born on 7 February 1934 in Bandung, Indonesia, then part of the Dutch East Indies, and later ...

put all these varieties in synonymy together under the name ''Ficus septica''. Within the genus, ''Ficus septica'' belongs to the subgenus ''Sycomorus'' section ''Sycocarpus'' subsection ''Sycocarpus''.

Description

Tree or shrub up to 25 meters. The latex of ''F. septica'' is characteristically yellow. Leaves and petioles are both glabrous. Leaves are symmetric, elliptic to oblong. Figs grow often in pairs but can be solitary or in groups of up to four. Figs are depressed-globose to ellipsoid, the apex is flat or concave. Seven to twelve ribs towards to ostiole. At maturity, whitish to yellowish dots appear on the fig. The individuals from Philippines have their stems covered by short hairs while those found in Taiwan are glabrous.

Habitat

''Ficus septica'' trees live up to 1800m in montane forests or secondary growth environments. It can be seen often along rivers. In

, at the northern limit of its distribution, ''F. septica'' lives up to 500m in secondary growths and along roads and coastlines.

Ecology

''Ficus septica'' is pollinated by

fig wasp Fig wasps are wasps of the superfamily Chalcidoidea which spend their larval stage inside figs. Most are pollinators but others simply feed off the plant. The non-pollinators belong to several groups within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, while the ...

s from the genus '' Ceratosolen''. Usually members of the genus ''Ficus'' are pollinated by a single species of pollinating fig wasps specific to each fig species, but recent observations of ''Ficus septica'' have shown there to be three pollinating species in the South of

and two in the

. The figs of ''Ficus septica'' have been reported to be eaten by 22 animal species and among them 14 are bats: * Double-eyed fig parrot * Unspecified

fruit dove The fruit doves, also known as fruit pigeons, are a genus (''Ptilinopus'') of birds in the pigeon and dove family (Columbidae). These colourful, frugivorous doves are found in forests and woodlands in Southeast Asia and Oceania. It is a large gen ...

Black-naped oriole The black-naped oriole (''Oriolus chinensis'') is a passerine bird in the oriole family that is found in many parts of Asia. There are several distinctive populations within the wide distribution range of this species and in the past the slende ...

Northern common cuscus The northern common cuscus (''Phalanger orientalis''), also known as the gray cuscus, is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae native to northern New Guinea and adjacent smaller islands, but is now also found in the Bismarck Archipel ...

Stein's cuscus Stein's cuscus (''Phalanger vestitus'') is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially th ...

Common spotted cuscus The common spotted cuscus (''Spilocuscus maculatus''), also known as the white cuscus, is a cuscus, a marsupial that lives in the Cape York region of Australia, New Guinea, and nearby smaller islands. Names It is known as aklang or gabi in the ...

Mantled guereza The mantled guereza (''Colobus guereza''), also known simply as the guereza, the eastern black-and-white colobus, or the Abyssinian black-and-white colobus, is a black-and-white colobus, a type of Old World monkey. It is native to much of west ...

Black rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is ...

Lesser short-nosed fruit bat The lesser short-nosed fruit bat (''Cynopterus brachyotis'') is a species of megabat within the family Pteropodidae. It is a small bat that lives in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It weighs between , and measures . It occurs in many types of habi ...

Horsfield's fruit bat Horsfield's fruit bat (''Cynopterus horsfieldii'') is a species of megabat native to South East Asia. It is named for Thomas Horsfield, an American naturalist who presented the type specimen to the British Museum. Description Horsfield's fruit ba ...

Greater short-nosed fruit bat The greater short-nosed fruit bat (''Cynopterus sphinx''), or short-nosed Indian fruit bat, is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae found in South and Southeast Asia. Description These bats have a relatively long snout. Their upper p ...

Indonesian short-nosed fruit bat The Indonesian short-nosed fruit bat (''Cynopterus titthaecheilus'') is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Ocean ...

* Bare-backed fruit bat *

Lesser naked-backed fruit bat The lesser naked-backed fruit bat (''Dobsonia minor'') is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), o ...

* Long-tongued nectar bat *

Long-tongued fruit bat The long-tongued fruit bat (''Macroglossus sobrinus'') is a species of megabat. It is nectarivorous, feeding on nectar from primarily banana flowers. It is found in several countries in South and Southeast Asia. Taxonomy and etymology It was de ...

* Broad-striped tube-nosed fruit bat * Common tube-nosed fruit bat * Greater musky fruit bat * Geoffroy's rousette * Common blossom bat

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5446640 septica Flora of Australia Flora of Malesia Flora of Taiwan Dioecious plants Taxa named by Nicolaas Laurens Burman