Ficus tinctoria

Ficus tinctoria, also known as dye fig, or humped fig is a hemiepiphytic tree of genus Ficus. It is also one of the species known as strangler fig.[3]

Dye fig
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Moraceae
Genus: Ficus
Subgenus: F. subg. Sycidium
Species:
F. tinctoria
Binomial name
Ficus tinctoria
Synonyms[2]

It is found in Asia, Malesia, northern Australia, and the South Pacific islands.[3]

Palms are favorable host species. Root systems of dye fig can come together to be self sustaining but the epiphyte usually falls if the host tree dies or rots away.[4]

In Australia it is recorded as a medium-sized tree with smooth, oval green leaves.[3] It is found often growing in rocky areas or over boulders.[3] The leaves are asymmetrical.[5]

The small rust brown fruit of the dye fig are the source of a red dye used in traditional fabric making in parts of Oceania and Indonesia.

The fruit is also edible and constitute as a major food source in the low-lying atolls of Micronesia and Polynesia.[6]

Subspecies

Ficus tinctoria subsp. gibbosa is an accepted subspecies.[7]

References
  1. Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) & IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group (2019). "Ficus tinctoria". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T143277299A143295549. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  2. "The Plant List: F. tinctoria". Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  3. Hyland, B. P. M.; Whiffin, T.; Zich, F. A.; et al. (Dec 2010). "Factsheet – Ficus tinctoria". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants (6.1, online version RFK 6.1 ed.). Cairns, Australia: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), through its Division of Plant Industry; the Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research; the Australian Tropical Herbarium, James Cook University. Retrieved 16 Mar 2013.
  4. Liu W., Wang P., Li J., Liu Wenyao, and Li Hongmei (2014), Plasticity of source‐water acquisition in epiphytic, transitional and terrestrial growth phases of Ficus tinctoria, Ecohydrol., 7; pages 1524–1533, doi:10.1002/eco.1475
  5. Janet Franklin; Gunnar Keppel; W. Arthur Whistler (2008). "The vegetation and flora of Lakeba, Nayau and Aiwa Islands, Central Lau Group, Fiji" (PDF). Micronesica. 40: 169–225. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-13.
  6. "Mati - Te Māra Reo". termarareo.org. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  7. "The Plant List: F. tinctoria subsp. gibbosa". Retrieved 22 April 2018.


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