Ficus superba var. henneana is a strangler fig

Strangler Fig

Strangler fig is the common name for a number of tropical and subtropical plant species, including some banyans and unrelated vines, including among many other species:* Ficus aurea, also known as the Florida Strangler Fig...

 only occurring in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It is a variety of Ficus superba which occurs in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and parts of South East Asia.

The Cedar Fig or Deciduous Fig grows in Australia from Milton, New South Wales

Milton, New South Wales

Milton is a town in the City of Shoalhaven on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia, not far from Ulladulla. It was founded in the middle of the 19th century...

 to northern Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 and the Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

. The habitat is riverine, littoral or the drier forms of rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

. The tree is semi deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

, seldom losing all leaves in winter.

This Australian variety was named after Diedrich Henne, who collected this plant at Booby Island in the Torres Strait

Torres Strait

The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost continental extremity of the Australian state of Queensland...

. Superba is from Latin referring to "outstanding" or "superb". The fruit is considered edible for humans, but it is not particularly palatable.

Description

Ficus superba var. henneana can grow to 35 metres (114.8 ft) in height in the best sites, or a smaller spreading tree on exposed rocky slopes. Like other strangler fig

Strangler Fig

Strangler fig is the common name for a number of tropical and subtropical plant species, including some banyans and unrelated vines, including among many other species:* Ficus aurea, also known as the Florida Strangler Fig...

s it is a hemi-epiphyte.

The bark is grey or reddish brown. Rough with scales, cracks and vertical bumps. The base of the tree is buttressed, but not as prominently as in the Moreton Bay Fig

Moreton Bay Fig

Ficus macrophylla, commonly known as the Moreton Bay Fig, is a large evergreen banyan tree of the Moraceae family that is a native of most of the eastern coast of Australia, from the Atherton Tableland in the north to the Illawarra in New South Wales, and Lord Howe Island. Its common name is...

. White sap appears when a branch is cut.

Leaves are alternate, simple and entire, 8 to 12 cm (3.1 to 4.7 in) long and 2 to 5 cm (0.78740157480315 to 2 in) wide. Oval or elliptical in shape. Mostly with a short blunt tip. Rounded at the base or heart shaped. This tree can be identified in New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 by the long leaf stem 2 to 5 cm (0.78740157480315 to 2 in) long. The leaf midrib is sunken on the upper surface and raised below.

Reproduction

Flowers form within a translucent receptacle, a syconium

Syconium

A syconium is the type of fruit borne by figs , formed of an enlarged, fleshy, hollow receptacle with multiple ovaries on the inside surface. In essence, it is really a fleshy stem with a number of flowers, so it is considered both a multiple and accessory fruit. The name comes from the Greek word...

. Flowers pollinated by fig wasp

Fig wasp

Fig wasps are wasps of the family Agaonidae which pollinate figs or are otherwise associated with figs, a coevolutional relationship that has been developing for at least 80 million years...

s within the fig. The mature fig changes to a purplish colour with pink dots, globular in shape, 25 millimetre (0.984251968503937 in) in diameter. Figs ripe from January to July, but sometimes appearing mature in different times of the year.

Figs eaten by a large variety of birds including Australasian Figbird

Australasian Figbird

The Australasian Figbird is a conspicuous medium-sized passerine bird native to a wide range of wooded habitats in northern and eastern Australia, southern Papua New Guinea, and the Kai Islands in Indonesia. It was formerly considered a subspecies of S...

, Coxen's Fig-parrot

Coxen's Fig-Parrot

Coxen's Fig-Parrot , also known as the Blue-browed, Red-faced or Southern Fig-Parrot or Lorilet, is one of the smallest and least known Australian parrots. It is a highly endangered subspecies of the Double-eyed Fig-Parrot...

, Green Catbird

Green Catbird

The Green Catbird, Ailuroedus crassirostris is a species of bowerbird found on subtropical forests along the east coast of Australia, from southeastern Queensland to southern New South Wales. Its colouring is emerald green, with faint black markings on the face and white streaks on the neck.Green...

, Lewin's Honeyeater

Lewin's Honeyeater

The Lewin's Honeyeater, Meliphaga lewinii, is a bird that inhabits the ranges along the east coast of Australia. It has a semicircular ear patch, pale yellow in colour.The name of this bird commemorates the Australian artist John Lewin....

, Regent Bowerbird

Regent Bowerbird

The Regent Bowerbird, Sericulus chrysocephalus is a medium-sized, up to 25 cm long, sexually dimorphic bowerbird. The male bird is black with a golden orange-yellow crown, mantle and black-tipped wing feathers. It has yellow bill, black feet and yellow iris...

, Rose Crowned Fruit Dove, Topknot Pigeon

Topknot Pigeon

The Topknot Pigeon is a pigeon native to Australia. It is also known by the name of "Flock Pigeon".-Description:...

, Wompoo Fruit Dove and Yellow-eyed Cuckoo-shrike

Yellow-eyed Cuckoo-shrike

The Barred Cuckooshrike , also called the Yellow-eyed Cuckooshrike, is a species of bird in the Campephagidae family.It is found in Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands....

. Regeneration is easy from fresh seed and cuttings. The marcotting technique of propagation is suited to Ficus superba var. henneana.