Ficus pumila

Ficus pumila is a woody evergreen liana, growing to tall. The juvenile foliage is much smaller and thinner than mature leaves produced as the plant ages. The leaves are oval, cordate, asymmetrical, with opposite veins. It is creeping or can behave like a liana and also climb trees, rocks, etc. up to 4 m in height or more. The aerial roots secrete a translucent latex that hardens on drying, allowing the stems to adhere to their support. It is pollinated by the fig wasp Wiebesia pumilae (syn. Blastophaga pumilae), and is fed upon by larvae of the butterfly Marpesia petreus. ==Cultivation==

As the common name, "creeping fig" indicates, the plant has a creeping/vining habit and is often used in gardens and landscapes where it covers the ground and climbs up trees and walls. It is hardy down to and does not tolerate frost. Therefore, in temperate regions it is often seen as a houseplant. It is fast-growing and requires little in the way of care. It can be invasive when environmental conditions are favorable. Its secondary roots or tendrils can cause structural damage to certain buildings with fragile mortar or structures made of fragile materials. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. ==Varieties and cultivars==

• Ficus pumila var. awkeotsang — awkeotsang creeping fig • Ficus pumila var. quercifolia — oak leaf creeping fig • Ficus pumila 'Curly' — curly creeping fig; crinkled leaf form • Ficus pumila 'Variegata' and Ficus pumila 'Snowflake' — variegated creeping fig; variegated foliage • Ficus pumila 'Minima' – features smaller, heart-shaped leaves == Cuisine ==

The fruit of Ficus pumila var. awkeotsang is used in cuisine. In Taiwan, its fruit is turned inside out and dried. The seeds are scraped off and a gel is extracted from their surface with water and allowed to set and form a jelly known in Taiwan as aiyu jelly (or aiyuzi 愛玉子) and in Singapore as ice jelly (文頭雪). ==Toxicity==

Like other plant species in the family Moraceae, contact with the milky sap of Ficus pumila can cause phytophotodermatitis, a potentially serious skin inflammation. Although the plant is not poisonous per se, F. pumila is listed in the FDA Database of Poisonous Plants. ==Gallery==

File:Ficus pumila, lenteloof, b, Pretoria.jpg|Close-up of the leaves and brown stipules File:Ficus pumila variegata 0zz.jpg|Variegated leaves File:Ficus pumila 24zz.jpg|'Minima' variety with smaller, crinkly leaves File:Warren Wilson Beach House (The Venice Beach House), Venice, California.JPG|Growing on Warren Wilson Beach House in Venice, CA File:Ficus pumila = ficus repens.JPG|Habit on a wall File:Ficus pumila.jpg|Vigorous growth on a wall File:Feuilles de Ficus pumila.jpg|Leaves from oldest to youngest File:Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften - Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe (1858) (20665373299), Ficus pumila.jpg|Nature printed leaves, showing shape and venation File:Ficus pumila fruits (RaeA).jpg|Syconia (figs) File:Ficuspumilafruit.jpg|Ficus pumila male and female Syconia ==References==