The Ficus sansibarica, known as knobbly fig, is an African species of cauliflorous fig. It is named after

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

, where Franz Stuhlmann discovered it in 1889. They often begin life as

epiphyte An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

s, which assume a strangling habit as they develop. They regularly reach 10 m, but may grow up to 40 m tall as forest stranglers.

Range and habitat

It occurs in the African tropics and subtropics from coastal elevations to 900 m above sea level. The nominate subspecies has an easterly distribution, but extends westwards up the Zambezi Valley. They are found in coastal, riverine and evergreen forests or woodland, and in

miombo Miombo woodland is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (in the World Wide Fund for Nature scheme) located in central and southern tropical Africa. It includes three woodland savanna ecoregions (listed below) chara ...

woodlands. They are locally cultivated in parks, villages or bush camps. They prefer deep sandy soil and often start life as a strangler. The pollinating wasp is '' Courtella armata''.

Description

The light grey bark is fairly smooth, though lumpy and folded. The smooth leaves are up to 13 cm long and oblong-obovate. They have parallel sides and are carried on slender petioles. The large (up to 5 cm), bitter-tasting figs appear in groups of 2 or 3 during the summer months. They are cauliflorous, growing on the characteristic wart-like, leafless branchlets on the trunk and main branches (i.e. old wood). '' F. chirindensis'' of the forests of southeastern Zimbabwe and adjacent Mozambique is similar, but has the leaves more oval, often has

buttress root Buttress roots, also known as plank roots or stilt roots, are large, wide roots on all sides of a shallowly rooted tree. Typically, they are found in nutrient-poor tropical forest soils that may not be very deep. They may prevent the tree from fa ...

s, and bears the small (1.5 cm) figs in stalked pairs on second year branches.

Uses

The raw figs are used for food, and are locally believed to promote fertility. Stems are torn apart to obtain fibers for basket weaving. Locally it is also deemed sacred.

Subspecies and status

* ''F. s.'' subsp. ''sansibarica'' – East Africa: southern

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

, northern

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

, northeastern

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

* ''F. s.'' subsp. ''macrosperma'' (Warb. ex Mildbr. & Burret) C.C.Berg – West and Central Africa:

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

DRC The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

and

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

The species is deemed critically endangered in Eswatini, where most are located in proposed

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

expansion areas near Sihoye. On

Inhaca Island Inhaca Island (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Ilha da Inhaca''), also known as Kanyaka island, is a subtropical island of Mozambique off the East African coast. The main village is Inhaca, situated just over a kilometer from Inhaca Airport. V ...

however, it is held sacred by most communities, and is scrupulously protected.

Gallery

Knob Fig Tree (Ficus sansibarica) (11498807685).jpg, Foliage Knobby fig (Ficus sansibarica), Kruger National Park, South Africa (29208468275).jpg, Figs on wart-like branchlets Knob Fig Tree (Ficus sansibarica) fruits (11498883455).jpg, Figs carried on

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...

References

External links

Natureswow blogspot.com: Knobby Fig (''Ficus sansibarica'')
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q15476842 sansibarica Trees of Africa Flora of the Afrotropical realm Flora of Kenya Flora of Malawi Flora of Mozambique Flora of the Northern Provinces Flora of Tanzania Flora of Zimbabwe Plants described in 1894