''Ficus palmata'', the Punjab fig, or "Bedu" is a plant in the family

Moraceae Moraceae is a family of flowering plants comprising about 48 genera and over 1100 species, and is commonly known as the mulberry or fig family. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however, their ...

. It is native to southern Egypt across to north-eastern tropical Africa and also the Arabian Peninsula. It is a shrub/tree with edible fruit.

Description

''Ficus palmata'' grows as a shrub, or tree, growing up to tall. The fruits, which turn purplish on maturing, measure up to long. The flowers are greenish white.

Taxonomy

It was first published by

Peter Forsskål Peter Forsskål, sometimes spelled Pehr Forsskål, Peter Forskaol, Petrus Forskål or Pehr Forsskåhl (11 January 1732 – 11 July 1763) was a Sweden, Swedish exploration, explorer, oriental studies, orientalist, natural history, naturalist, and ...

in Fl. Aegypt.-Arab. on page 179 in 1775. It is also known as the ''Wild Himalayan fig''.

Subspecies

There are 2 known subspecies; * ''Ficus palmata'' subsp. ''palmata'' * ''Ficus palmata'' subsp. ''virgata'' Which has the synonyms of; ''Ficus virgata'' , ''Ficus caricoides'' , ''Ficus pseudocarica'' and ''Ficus urticifolia''

Distribution and habitat

''Ficus palmata'' is native to north-eastern Africa: from Egypt south to Somalia, and to the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

(the typical subspecies) and to Asia: from the Arabian Peninsula and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

east to

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

, (subspecies ''virgata''). Its habitat, desert or dry shrubland including near villages in the Himalayas, is at altitudes of .

Uses

In the Himalayan region, its fruit is widely sold and consumed. The whole fruit, including the seeds are edible. The fruits are used in

folk medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

to treat

inflammation Inflammation (from ) is part of the biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. The five cardinal signs are heat, pain, redness, swelling, and loss of function (Latin ''calor'', '' ...

, pathogenic bacterial ailments and be used as an

analgesic An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic, antalgic, pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used for pain management. Analgesics are conceptually distinct from anesthetics, which temporarily reduce, and in s ...

(Shi et al. 2014).

References

palmata Flora of Egypt Flora of Northeast Tropical Africa Flora of the Arabian Peninsula Flora of Western Asia Flora of the Indian subcontinent Plants described in 1775 {{Moraceae-stub