Ficus aspera

Ficus aspera

The mosaic ficus or clown fig, rough leale fig (Ficus aspera G.Forst. 1786) is an arboreal species belonging to the Moraceae family.

Systematic –
Eukaryota domain,
Kingdom Plantae,
Division Magnoliophyta,
Class Magnoliopsida,
Rosales Order,
Family Moraceae,
Genus Ficus,
Species F. aspera.
The terms are synonymous:
– Artocarpus cannonii H.J.Veitch;
– Artocarpus cannonii Van Houtte;
– Artocarpus cannonii VanHoutte;
– Artocarpus exculptus W.Bull;
– Artocarpus laciniatus H.J.Veitch;
– Artocarpus laciniatus var. metallicus J.H.Veitch;
– Ficus cannonii (H.J.Veitch) N.E.Br.;
– Ficus exasperata Hort.Kew.;
– Ficus exasperata Hort.Kew. ex Miq..

Etymology –
The term Ficus is the classical Latin name of the fig tree, a genus already known at the time, probably derived from Hebrew.
The specific epithet aspera comes from the Latin “aspera”, rough, in reference to the characteristics of the leaf surface.

Geographic Distribution and Habitat –
Ficus aspera is a plant native to Vanuatu, in the South Pacific region.
Its habitat is that of forest clearings and the banks of watercourses, up to approximately 300 m above sea level.

Description –
Ficus aspera is a dioecious plant that grows in the form of a tree or small shrub, evergreen or deciduous, which grows up to 15-20 m, although it remains much lower in cultivation.
The bark is gray and smooth.
The leaves are located on a short petiole, are alternate, simple, oblong or oval, 10-25 cm long and 8-12 cm wide, asymmetrical, with a rough surface above and below, light green in color or variegated with creamy white, margins sometimes slightly toothed and acute apex.
The inflorescences are syconia, i.e. cavities with fleshy walls that entirely enclose the flowers, accessible from an apical opening enclosed by tiny scales carrying either only female or only male flowers. The syconia are produced singly or in pairs in the axils of the leaves, or directly on the main branches (caulifloria), on a short peduncle, they are subglobose, 1-2.5 cm in diameter, pubescent, initially green or white with streaks green, then yellow or red streaked with green when ripe, the inside is white.
For fruiting, the presence of a pollinating insect is required, as is known, each Ficus species is associated with a specific insect from the Agaonidae family, which in turn can reproduce only if the Ficus species to which it is associated is present.
The fruits are achenes that contain a single seed.

Cultivation –
Ficus aspera is a fast-growing plant that can be deciduous or evergreen depending on cultivation.
The tree is harvested in the wild for local use as a food and source of materials. It is occasionally cultivated for its edible fruit.
It is also often cultivated as an ornamental plant, especially in its variegated form.
For cultivation it requires a position in full sun or partially shaded, to bring out the variegations, soil rich in organic substance, draining, and regular watering in summer, but allowing the superficial layers of soil to dry before watering again, thinned and moderate in winter, if necessary, especially with low temperatures, being susceptible to root rot with stagnant humidity.
It grows in most well-drained soils; Furthermore, having no aggressive roots, it makes a good garden subject.
The plant can be grown in a pot, for interior decoration, in an organic substrate with the addition of coarse sand or agri-perlite around 30%, in a bright position at temperatures in winter above 14 °C.
It is easily subject to attacks by mites (red spider mites) and scale insects, therefore it must be checked periodically in order to intervene promptly.
The most cultivated form is the variegated one, known as Ficus aspera ‘Parcellii’, of great ornamental effect, cultivable in tropical, subtropical and marginally warm temperate climate zones, being able to resist, for a very short period, temperatures down to around -3 °C .
Fig trees have a unique form of fertilization, each species relying on a single, highly specialized species of wasp which in turn is totally dependent on that species of fig to reproduce. The trees produce three types of flowers; male, a long-styled female flower and a short-styled female flower, often called the gall flower. All three types of flowers are contained in the structure that we usually think of as the fruit.
The female fig wasp enters a fig and lays eggs on the short-styled female flowers while pollinating the long-styled female flowers. Wingless male fig wasps emerge first, inseminate the emerging females, and then dig exit tunnels from the fig for the winged females. Females emerge, collect pollen from male flowers, and fly away to find figs whose female flowers are receptive. To support a population of its pollinator, individuals of a Ficus spp. It must flourish asynchronously. A population must exceed a critical minimum size to ensure that at any time of the year at least some plants have overlapping emission and reception of fig wasps. Without this temporal overlap, short-lived pollinating wasps would become locally extinct.
Reproduction occurs by seed, placed superficially on an organic, sandy substrate, kept constantly humid, in a bright position at a temperature of 22-24 °C, by semi-woody cutting and layering in spring-summer.

Customs and Traditions –
Ficus aspera is a plant known by some common names; among these are: clown fig, mosaic fig, rough loyal fig (English); higuera abigarrada (Spanish).
This species first appeared in scientific literature in 1786, published by the German botanist Georg Forster, from a specimen collected on the island of Tanna. This plant is grown as an ornamental and, occasionally, for its edible fruit.
Locally the young leaves and ripe fruits are eaten cooked as a side dish.
The wood of plants of this genus is generally of low quality, light, soft and not very resistant. It is sometimes used for purposes such as light construction, digging sticks, yam poles, etc.
Wood is also used as fuel and sometimes to start fires by friction.

Preparation Method –
Ficus aspera is a plant that, as well as for ornamental purposes, is used for its fruits which are eaten raw.
Among other uses, it should be noted that the rough textured leaves can be used by local populations in place of sandpaper and as scourers to clean pots and pans.
The leaves are large enough to be used as plates for serving food, and are also used to wrap food for cooking.
The bark is fibrous and it is likely that the fiber is used to make ropes, perhaps fabrics and perhaps even to make fabrics from tapa bark.
The fibrous branches can be used to clean teeth.

Guido Bissanti

Sources
– Acta Plantarum – Flora of the Italian Regions.
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
– Useful Tropical Plants Database.
– Conti F., Abbate G., Alessandrini A., Blasi C. (ed.), 2005. An annotated checklist of the Italian vascular flora, Palombi Editore.
– Pignatti S., 1982. Flora d’Italia, Edagricole, Bologna.
– Treben M., 2000. Health from the Lord’s Pharmacy, Advice and experiences with medicinal herbs, Ennsthaler Editore.

Photo source:
– https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/FicusAspera04_FlamingoGardens_Asit.jpg
– https://intermountainbiota.org/imglib/h_seinet/seinet/KHD/KHD00004/KHD00004140_lg.jpg

Attention: Pharmaceutical applications and food uses are indicated for informational purposes only, they do not represent in any way a medical prescription; we therefore decline any responsibility for their use for healing, aesthetic or food purposes.