Ficus pumila

Ficus pumila is a woody evergreen liana, growing to 2.5–4 m (8 ft 2 in–13 ft 1 in). 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 sticks to adhere to their support.

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 1 °C (34 °F) and does not tolerate frost. Therefore in temperate regions is often seen as a houseplant. It is fast-growing and requires little in the way of care. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[6][7]

The plant requires the fig wasp Blastophaga pumilae for pollination, and is fed upon by larvae of the butterfly Marpesia petreus.

• 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

Like other plant species in the family Moraceae, contact with the milky sap of Ficus pumila can cause phytophotodermatitis,[8] a potentially serious skin inflammation. Although the plant is not poisonous per se, F. pumila is listed in the FDA Database of Poisonous Plants.[9]

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  Growing on Warren Wilson Beach House in Venice, CA
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  Habit on a wall
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  Vigorous growth on a wall
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  Close-up of the leaves and brown stipules
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  Nature printed leaves, showing shape and venation
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  Syconia (figs)
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  Inverted and dried fig of F. p. var. awkeotsang, ready for use
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  Leaves from oldest to youngest
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  Variegated leaves
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  Half cut of Ficus Pumila Syconia