Ficus drupacea (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Ficus drupacea Thunb.

Family: Moraceae

Ficus payapa Blanco, Ficus pilosa Reinw. ex Blume.

• Brown-woolly fig (En)
• Indonesia: bulu timun (Javanese), kiara gambir, kiara wunuk (Sundanese)
• Malaysia: akar piangu antan
• Philippines: payapa, balete (Tagalog), nonok (Bisaya)
• Thailand: lungkhon (northern), krang-baikhon (Bangkok), haimi (Ubon Ratchathani).

From India and Sri Lanka throughout Indo-China and Malesia to the Solomon Islands and Australia (Queensland).

The figs are edible but rather tasteless. Formerly the tree was planted as a host for lac insects. Weak rope can be prepared from the bark. Powdered roots are used to cure wounds.

Large tree, up to 40 m tall, epiphytic when young, brown woolly-hairy on buds, twigs and leaf undersides. Leaves oblong-elliptic, up to 30 cm × 13 cm. Fruit a fig, axillary, sessile, paired, ovoid to cylindrical, 2-3 cm × 1.5-2 cm, ochre-yellow or red. In evergreen and deciduous forests, up to 1200 m altitude. Five varieties have been distinguished, mainly based on characteristics of basal bracts.

3, 8, 10, 12, 13, 54, 72.