Ficus macrophylla

Ficus macrophylla is an evergreen tree that can reach heights of . The trunk can be massive, with thick, prominent buttressing, and reach a diameter of . and marked with various blemishes. The leaves and branches bleed a milky sap if cut or broken. The figs are in diameter, turning from green to purple with lighter spots as they ripen; ripe fruit may be found year-round, although they are more abundant from February to May. It is a rainforest plant and in this environment more often grows in the form of an epiphytic strangler vine than that of a tree. When its seeds land in the branch of a host tree it sends aerial, "strangler" roots down the host trunk, eventually killing the host and standing alone. It is monoecious: each tree bears functional male and female flowers. As indicated by its specific epithet, it has large, elliptic, leathery, dark green leaves, long, and they are arranged alternately on the stems. The fruit is known as a syconium, an inverted inflorescence with the flowers lining an internal cavity. ==Taxonomy==

South African botanist Christiaan Hendrik Persoon published a formal description of the Moreton Bay fig in his 1807 work Synopsis Plantarum, the material having been reported by French botanist René Louiche Desfontaines in 1804. The type specimen has been lost but was possibly located in Florence. The specific epithet macrophylla is derived from the Ancient Greek makros "large" and phyllon "leaf", and refers to the size of the leaves. Australian botanist Charles Moore described Ficus columnaris in 1870 from material collected from Lord Howe Island, choosing the species name from the Latin columnaris for the column-like roots. English botanist E. J. H. Corner reduced this to synonymy with F. macrophylla in 1965, before P. S. Green noted it was distinct enough for subspecies status in 1986. Australian botanist Dale J. Dixon reviewed material and felt the differences too minor to warrant subspecific status, Review of F. magnolioides by Silvio Fici and Francesco Maria Raimondo found that it was F. macrophylla f. columnaris. With over 750 species, Ficus is one of the largest angiosperm genera. Based on morphology, Corner divided the genus into four subgenera; In this classification, the Moreton Bay fig was placed in subseries Malvanthereae, series Malvanthereae, section Malvanthera of the subgenus Urostigma. In his reclassification of the Australian Malvanthera, Dixon altered the delimitations of the series within the section but left this species in series Malvanthereae. Berg combined sections Stilpnophyllum and Malvanthera into an expanded section Stilpnophyllum. This left the Moreton Bay fig in subsection Malvanthera, section Stilpnophyllum. In a 2008 study on DNA sequences from the nuclear ribosomal internal and external transcribed spacers, Danish botanist Nina Rønsted and colleagues rejected previous subdivisions of the Malvanthera. Instead, they divided section Malvanthera into three subsections—Malvantherae, Platypodeae, and Hesperidiiformes. In this system, the Moreton Bay fig is in the subsection Malvantherae, along with F. pleurocarpa. The Malvantherae appear to be basal (an early offshoot) to the group. F. macrophylla form macrophylla is native to mainland Australia, while form columnaris of macrophylla colonised Lord Howe Island. The section Malvanthera itself is thought to have evolved 41 million years ago and radiated around 35 million years ago. ==Distribution and habitat==

'', estimated 50 metres tall, Davis Scrub Nature Reserve, Australia The Moreton Bay fig is a native of eastern coastal Australia, from the Wide Bay–Burnett region in central Queensland, It is found in subtropical, warm temperate, and dry rainforest, where, as an emergent tree, its crown may tower above the canopy, As rainforests were cleared, isolated specimens were left standing in fields as remnant trees, One such tree was a landmark for and gave its name to the Wollongong suburb of Figtree in New South Wales. ==Ecology==

tree in Balboa Park, San Diego The huge numbers of fruit produced by the Moreton Bay fig make it a key source of food in the rainforest. as well as fruit-eating pigeons such as the wompoo fruit-dove (Ptilinopus magnificus), and topknot pigeon (Lopholaimus antarcticus), and a sometime food of the rose-crowned fruit-dove (Ptilinopus regina). Other bird species that eat the fruit include the yellow-eyed cuckoo-shrike (Coracina lineata), pied currawong (Strepera graculina), Australasian figbird (Sphecotheres vieilloti), Regent bowerbird (Sericulus chrysocephalus), satin bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), and Lewin's honeyeater (Meliphaga lewinii). Fruit bats such as the grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) also feed on the fruit. As well as the pollinating fig wasp, Pleistodontes froggatti, syconia of the Moreton Bay fig are host to several species of non-pollinating chalcidoid wasps including Sycoscapter australis (Pteromalidae), Eukobelea hallami (Sycophaginae), and Meselatus sp. (Epichrysomallinae). The nematode species Schistonchus macrophylla and Schistonchus altermacrophylla are found in the syconia, where they parasitise P. froggattii. The thrips species Gynaikothrips australis feeds on the underside of new leaves of F. macrophylla, as well as those of F. rubiginosa and F. obliqua. As plant cells die, nearby cells are induced into forming meristem tissue and a gall results and the leaves become distorted and curl over. The thrips begin feeding when the tree has flushes of new growth, and the life cycle is around six weeks. At other times, thrips reside on old leaves without feeding. The species pupates sheltered in the bark. The thrips remain in the galls at night and wander about in the daytime and return in the evening, possibly to different galls about the tree. Stressed trees can also be attacked by psyllids to the point of defoliation. Grubs hatch from eggs laid on the edges of leaves and burrow into the leaf to suck nutrients, the tree's latex shielding the insect. Reproduction and life span '', the fig wasp that pollinates the Moreton Bay fig Figs have an obligate mutualism with fig wasps (Agaonidae); figs are pollinated only by fig wasps, and fig wasps can reproduce only in fig flowers. Generally, each fig species depends on a single species of wasp for pollination. The wasps are similarly dependent on their fig species to reproduce. The mainland and Lord Howe populations of the Moreton Bay fig are both pollinated by Pleistodontes froggatti. As is the case with all figs, the fruit is an inverted inflorescence known as a syconium, with tiny flowers arising from the inner surface. Moreton Bay fig trees live for over 100 years in the wild. Occasional garden escapees have been recorded in Turkey. ==Cultivation==

The Moreton Bay fig has been widely used in public parks in frost-free areas, and was popular with early settlers of Australia. Specimens can reach massive proportions, and have thrived in drier climates; impressive specimen trees have been grown in the Waring Gardens in Deniliquin, and Hay. They can withstand light frosts and can cope with salt-laden spray in coastal situations, and their fruit is beneficial for urban wildlife. However, their huge size precludes use in all but the largest gardens, and their roots are highly invasive and can damage piping and disrupt footpaths and roadways; the vast quantities of crushed fruit can be messy on the ground. It can be used as an indoor plant in medium to brightly lit indoor spaces. Notable specimens Large specimens of Moreton Bay fig trees are found in many parks and properties throughout eastern and northeastern Australia. The Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney botanic gardens contain numerous specimens planted in the middle of the 19th century, which are up to tall. A notable tree in the Sydney suburb of Randwick, the 150-year-old "Tree of Knowledge", was controversially cut down in 2016 to make way for the CBD and South East Light Rail. There are many large specimens in New Zealand. A Moreton Bay fig at Pahi on the Kaipara Harbour, Northland, was measured in 1984 as high and wide, and in 2011 had a girth of . The Moreton Bay fig was introduced into cultivation into California in the United States in the 1870s, 13 specimens being classified as Exceptional Trees of Los Angeles in 1980. The tallest Ficus macrophylla in North America is adjacent to San Diego's Natural History Museum and was planted in 1914. By 1996 it stood high and the crown was wide. The widest Moreton Bay fig in North America is Santa Barbara's Moreton Bay Fig Tree. It was planted in 1876, reportedly by a young girl who was given a seedling by an Australian sailor. It measures across. The Aoyama Tree stands between the Japanese American National Museum and the Temporary Contemporary in downtown Los Angeles. It was planted by Buddhist Japanese Americans in the early 20th century. Two South African specimens, in the Arderne Gardens in Claremont and the Pretoria Zoo respectively, have the widest and second-widest canopies of any single-stemmed trees in the country. The Pretoria specimen was planted before 1899, and was tall with a canopy width of by 2012. There is a notable specimen sprawling on steps at the Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra, Portugal. Ficus macrophylla has been used in public spaces in Palermo in Sicily, with impressive specimens found in the Orto Botanico, the gardens of the Villa Garibaldi, Giardino Inglese, and in some squares. ==Uses==

The soft light timber has a wavy texture and is used for cases. Aboriginal people traditionally use the fibres for fishing nets. The fruits are edible and taste like other fig varieties. ==Gallery==