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Fig Introduction

Multiple Fruits of the Mulberry Family

A. & B. Jack Fruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)
C. Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis)
D. Black Mulberry (Morus nigra)
E. Pakistan Mulberry (Morus macroura)
F. Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera)

Above multiple fruits are composed of many ovaries (female flowers) packed together. Each ripened ovary is technically a fruit. If you turned this multiple fruit inside out, you would essentially have the general structure of a fig syconium with an opening (ostiole) at one end where minute fig wasps can enter. The syconium has coevolved with fig wasps of the family Agaonidae.

Figs (genus Ficus) belong to the mulberry family (Moraceae) characterized by trees with multiple fruits composed of numerous, small ripened ovaries, each ovary from a single tiny flower. These minute ripened ovaries are technically true, one-seeded botanical fruits. In the 876 species of figs, the flowers & ripened ovaries (drupelets) are produced inside a unique hollow structure called a syconium. Figs coevolved with tiny wasps of the family Agaonidae about 80 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed the land. Symbiotic wasps are vital for pollination and seed production within the fig syconia. In fact, they may be a factor in "species packing." The tiny island of Barro Colorado in the Panama Canal Zone, with an area of only six square miles, has 17 native species. Virtually every species of fig has its own unique species of "in house" wasp pollinator. The wasps are housed throughout the year inside the fig's hollow syconia, in one of nature's most remarkable symbiotic relationships between a tree and an insect.

When You Eat A Fig You Are Actually Eating A Fleshy Inside-Out Flower Cluster!

A. Rustyleaf Fig Wasp (Pleistodontes imperialis). This wasp
species in 5 Fig Species At Palomar College & San Diego Zoo.

B. Fig wasp with long ovipositor from Sierra de la Giganta, Baja California.

Factor That May Account For The Large Number Of Fig Species (876):

Host Sharing: 2 or more pollinator wasp species per host.
Pollinator Sharing: 2 or more fig host species per pollinator.

The 876 Fig Species Can Be Dioecious (Gynodioecious) or Monoecious

Gynodioecious: Syconia With Long-Style Flowers on "Female" Trees (Common Edible Fig: Ficus carica). Syconia With Short-Style Female Flowers & Pollen-Bearing Male Flowers on "Male" Caprifig Trees.

Monoecious: Syconia With Short Style, Long Style & Male (Pollen-Bearing) Flowers on Same Tree: Sycomore Fig (Ficus sycomorus) & Rustyleaf Fig (F. rubiginosa)

What A Fig Tree Needs:

1. Pollination By A Fig Wasp:   Followed By Seed Production

A tiny wasp enters the fig syconium and pollinates female flowers inside.

2. Dispersal Of The Seeds and  Perpetuation Of Fig Tree

Figs Are Keystone Species In Tropical Rain Forest

Animals (Birds, Bats, Monkeys, Etc.) Eat Figs & Disperse The Seeds.

Crops of Fig Syconia

Common Edible Fig (Ficus carica): A Gynodioecious Species

Seed-Bearing Female Tree: 1st Breba Crop & 2nd (Main) Crop
Parthenocarpic Varieties Have Ripe Syconia But No Seeds

Male (Caprifig): Profichi (June)--Mammone (Summer)--Mamme (Fall)
Caprifig Trees Produce Pollen & Pollinator Fig Wasps (Rarely Seeds)

Rustyleaf Fig (Ficus rubiginosa): A Monoecious Species

3 Crops Annually At Palomar College

DNA Cladograms For 876 Fig Species & Their Wasps Are Enormous.
Following Link is Cladogram For Varieties of One Species: Ficus carica

Cladogram Comparing DNA Of Ficus carica Varieties (PDF)
  Figs In Carica/Palmata Complex Including Ficus pseudocarica  

Fig-Covered Bldgs. at Palomar College in 1966

Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila)

Native to East Asia, including southern China, Japan, Taiwan & Vietnam. It is also found in Korea.

Stranglers and Banyans

Amazing Figs Of The Tropical Rain Forest

Of all the trees on earth, the figs (Ficus) certainly have the most bizarre growth forms and the most ingenious method of pollination. Imagine a tree with numerous snakelike, aerial roots growing downward from the limbs, a massive, buttressed trunk with huge surface roots spreading in all directions, and a peculiar aggressive growth habit that literally strangles other trees. Although most people are familiar with the Old World edible fig (F. carica), the vast majority of fig species grow wild in exotic tropical regions of the world. Their unmistakable growth form resembles the background scenery from a "Tarzan" or "Rambo" movie. Several unusual species were planted in Florida and southern California near the turn of the century, and include some of the most spectacular trees in parks and botanical gardens. Unfortunately, some of these introduced species have proved to be a nuisance in humid regions of the United States.

Lahaina's Huge Banyan Fig (Ficus benghalensis)

An enormous specimen tree of the Indian banyan fig (Ficus benghalensis). This remarkable tree covers nearly an acre with numerous prop roots, each the size of an average tree trunk. Sony HX9V. There are introduced, naturalized figs, fig wasps & ants in the Hawaiian Islands; however, there are no indigenous figs or ants.

Polynesian Banyan (Ficus prolixa)

In search of the Polynesian banyan (Ficus prolixa) on the island of Moorea, French Polynesia.

Epiphytic Strangler Fig On Canary Island Date Palm At Palomar College

Hemiepiphytes: Start Out As Epiphytes--Then Become Trees

Several exotic fig species, such as the commonly cultivated Benjamin fig (Ficus benjamina), Indian laurel fig (F. microcarpa), rustyleaf fig (F. rubiginosa), and Moreton Bay fig (F. macrophylla), often develop as hemiepiphytes (spending part of their life as epiphytes) with numerous aerial roots in their native habitats of Malaysia and tropical Australia. They sometimes germinate in the crowns of palms and crevices of buildings in moist climates, such as southern Florida. Due to the introduction of symbiotic wasp pollinators, some of these tropical figs in southern California, including Palomar College campus in San Diego County, produce viable seeds. They sometimes germinate in the crowns of palms; however, it is generally too arid for them to send aerial roots to the ground and develop into mature trees.

An unusual sight on the campus of Palomar College in San Diego County, California: A rustyleaf fig (Ficus rubiginosa) that has developed from a seed in the leaf bases of a Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis). If the climate were more humid, with frequent rain showers, this fig could probably send aerial roots to the ground and become a full-fledged strangler. In fact, aerial root resembling "botanical boa constrictor" appears in upper left of above image (red arrow).

The rustyleaf fig (Ficus rubiginosa) in distance produces numerous crops of seed-bearing syconia bearing symbiotic fig wasps (Pleistodontes imperialis). For birds feeding on the sweet syconia, it is a relatively short distance to the Canary Island date palms where fig seeds could be deposited with their feces.

Coral Gables, Southern Florida. Ficus altissima

This Asian strangler fig (probably Ficus altissima) has enveloped a masonry wall in Coral Gables, Florida. There are 2 native species of strangler figs in southern Florida, Ficus aurea and F. citrifolia. In fact, the Caribbean (Lesser Antilles) island of Barbados ("bearded") is named for the dense aerial roots of F. citrifolia.

Ficus altissima on the campus of Palomar College.

My marvelous Palomar colleagues on the Island of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands (circa late 1980s). From Left: Lester Knapp, Dr. Nancy Jessop and Robert Ebert.

Note: We found 2 fig species here: Ficus citrifolia near Cinnamon Bay Campround and large F. trigonata on nearby mountain trail.

Our travel group visited many Caribbean islands, Mexico, Central & South America (Ecuador), and French Polynesia (Moorea). They were primarily marine biology field trips, but my major research goal was drift seeds and indigenous fig species (Ficus).

This was also when I began collecting drift seeds & fruits on tropical beaches. It was also my 1st visit to Fairchild Tropical Garden in Coral Gables, Florida and my quest for the authenticity of Dr. Fairchild's "Maharajah Coconut Pearl" on display.

Florida Strangler Fig (Ficus aurea)

Ficus aurea in southern Florida. Left: On cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto) along Tamiana Trail. Right: On bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) at Big Cypress Bend Natural Landmark.

Island of St. John. Left: Ficus citrifolia Right: F. trigonata

Fig species on Island of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Left: Ficus citrifolia on mamme Apple (Mammea americana). Right: Ficus trigonata on Cinnamon Bay Trail.

Island of Dominica (Lesser Antilles). Ficus citrifolia.
National Tree of Barbados (Also in the Lesser Antilles).

Yucatan, Mexico. Ficus cotinifolia

A massive strangler fig (Ficus cotinifolia) in Yucatan with numerous vinelike, aerial roots growing from the limbs. Some of the roots have fused (anastomosed) into large pillars. The decayed trunk of the host tree is still visible inside the strangler's web of fused aerial roots.

Sierra de la Giganta, Baja California. Ficus palmeri

Ficus palmeri in Baja California. Arroyo southwest of Loreto in foothills of Sierra de la Giganta. The gray trunk in left image appears to have melted and flowed down the steep rock face like an arboreal waterfall. Actually, adventitious (aerial) surface roots from the trunk grew down the canyon wall and fused together (anastomosed). The aerial roots of tropical banyans form pillar-like prop roots that support the massive, spreading limbs. In strangler figs of the rain forest the aerial roots wrap around host trees like botanical boa constrictors.

An enlarged view of the above Ficus palmeri near Loreto.

  Wayne's Word Geologic Time Scale  
  Fossil Fig Syconia In Wyoming & Montana  

  Fig Pollinators On Campus Of Palomar College (1)  
  Figs In Palomar College Arboretum & On Campus  
Fig Pollinators On Campus Of Palomar College (4)

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