Ficus hispida (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Ficus hispida L.f.

Protologue: Suppl. pl.: 442 (1781).

Synonyms

• Ficus letaqui Lév. & Van. (1910),
• Ficus poilanei Gagnep. (1927).

Vernacular names

• Rough-leaved stem fig (En)
• Indonesia: bisoro (Sundanese), luwing (Javanese), mongmong (Sumatra)
• Malaysia: ara bumbing, ara sinigai, ara seniah (Peninsular)
• Laos: dua¹pong¹
• Thailand: duea plong (northern, central, peninsular), duea pong (Bangkok), maduea plong (central)
• Vietnam: ngái.

Distribution

From Sri Lanka and India to Indo-China, southern China, Thailand, the Andaman Islands, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi, the Lesser Sunda Islands, New Guinea and northern Australia (Queensland).

Uses

The immature fruits are considered tonic, galactagogue and emetic. The latex of the leaves is taken internally to treat fever, diarrhoea and to relieve painful urination; the latex of the bark is regarded as an emetic. An extract of the bark is used in the treatment of jaundice, leprosy and anaemia. Boiled leaves are used to poultice boils and ulceration of the nose. The fruits are also eaten in curries, but are, however, likely to cause giddiness. Ripe fruits are made into a jam. The bark yields a rough fibre. The leaves may be used as fodder for cattle. Large cuttings have been used to establish live fences.

Observations

• An evergreen, small tree up to 15 m tall, bark smooth, grey.
• Leaves often decussate, asymmetrical, pentagonal to oblong, 10-35 cm × 4-20 cm, base subcordate to broadly cuneate, apex acuminate, margin crenulate, with 5-10 pairs of veins and prominent reticulation below, hispid, stipules 1-2.5 cm long.
• Figs on long twigs hanging from the trunk and main branches, obovoid, 25-40 mm in diameter, densely brown pubescent, pale or greenish-yellow when ripe; male flowers in 1-2 rows, with 1 stamen, female flowers sessile or stipitate.

F. hispida is common in secondary lowland forest in per-humid to monsoon climates.

Selected sources

• [7] Acharya, B.M. & Kumer, K.A., 1984. Chemical examination of the bark of Ficus hispida Linn. Current Science, India 53(19): 1034-1035.
• [202] Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Revised reprint. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol. 1 (A-H) pp. 1-1240. Vol. 2 (I-Z) pp. 1241-2444.
• [248] Chew, W.-L., 1989. Moraceae. In: George, A.S. (Editor): Flora of Australia. Vol. 3. Hamamelidales to Casuarinales. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, Australia. pp. 15-68.
• [281] Corner, E.J.H., 1965. Check-list of Ficus in Asia and Australia. Gardens' Bulletin, Singapore 21: 1-186.
• [284] Corner, E.J.H., 1988. Wayside trees of Malaya. 3rd Edition. 2 volumes. The Malayan Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 774 pp.
• [287] Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1948-1976. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials & industrial products. 11 volumes. Publications and Information Directorate, New Delhi, India.
• [580] Heyne, K., 1950. De nuttige planten van Indonesië [The useful plants of Indonesia]. 3rd Edition. 2 volumes. W. van Hoeve, 's-Gravenhage, the Netherlands/Bandung, Indonesia. 1660 + CCXLI pp.
• [766] Koorders, S.H., 1901. Kleine schetsen van merkwaardige javaansche planten. Schetsen No 11-14 [Short descriptions of peculiar Javanese plants. Description No 11-14]. Teijsmannia 11: 558-577.
• [921] Matthew, K.M., 1981-1988. The flora of the Tamilnadu Carnatic. 4 volumes. The Rapinat Herbarium, St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirapalli, India.
• [1380] Smitinand, T., 1980. Thai plant names. Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, Thailand. 379 pp.
• [1478] Troup, R.S., 1921. Silviculture of Indian trees. 3 volumes. Clarendon Press, Oxford, United Kingdom.
• [1525] Vidal, J., 1962. Noms vernaculaires de plantes en usage au Laos [Vernacular names of plants used in Laos]. Ecole française d'Extrême-Orient, Paris, France. 197 pp.
• [1564] Whitmore, T.C. & Ng, F.S.P. (Editors), 1972-1989. Tree flora of Malaya. A manual for foresters. 2nd Edition. 4 volumes. Malayan Forest Records No 26. Longman Malaysia Sdn. Berhad, Kuala Lumpur & Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

Main genus page

• Ficus (Medicinal plants)

Authors

• J.P. Rojo, F.C. Pitargue & M.S.M. Sosef