''Ficus septica'', also known as the Hauili fig tree, is a species of shrub or tree 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 ...

found at low altitudes from north-eastern India to northern Australia (

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

), and throughout

Malesia Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms. It is a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical kingdom. It was first recognized as a distinct region ...

. 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 Bot ...

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, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

; and ''F. septica'' var. ''salicifolia'' endemic to the Philippines Islands. Then in the latest Flora Malesiana edition, Cornelis Christiaan Berg 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 Taiwan, 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 fig syconia. Some are pollinators but others simply feed off the plant. The non-pollinators belong to several groups within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, ...

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 southern Taiwan and two in the Philippines. 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 * Black-naped oriole * Northern common cuscus * Stein's cuscus * Common spotted cuscus * Mantled guereza *

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 n ...

* Lesser short-nosed fruit bat * Horsfield's fruit bat *

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 pa ...

* Indonesian short-nosed fruit bat * Bare-backed fruit bat * Lesser naked-backed fruit bat *

Long-tongued nectar bat The long-tongued nectar bat (''Macroglossus minimus''), also known as the northern blossom bat, honey nectar bat, least blossom-bat, dagger-toothed long-nosed fruit bat, and lesser long-tongued fruit bat, is a species of megabat. ''M. minimus'' is ...

* Long-tongued fruit bat * Broad-striped tube-nosed fruit bat * Common tube-nosed fruit bat * Greater musky fruit bat *

Geoffroy's rousette Geoffroy's rousette (''Rousettus amplexicaudatus'') is a species of megabat or Old World fruit bats. It is one of ten species in the genus ''Rousettus''. Distribution Geoffroy's rousette occurs throughout Southeast Asia and in the Malesia region ...

* 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