Ficus pachyrrachis (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Ficus pachyrrachis Lauterb. & K. Schumann

Protologue: Fl. Schutzgeb. Südsee: 282 (1900).

Synonyms

• Ficus grandis King (1888) non Miq.,
• Ficus hypoglauca Lauterb. & K. Schumann (1900),
• Ficus pachythyrsa Diels (1935).

Vernacular names

• Papua New Guinea: topu (Awala, Northern Province).

Distribution

New Guinea.

Uses

In Papua New Guinea, the latex is smeared onto an ulcer daily until cured. Young leaves are eaten cooked as a vegetable. The fibrous bark of saplings is used to make rope.

Observations

• A small to medium-sized tree up to 20 m tall.
• Leaves arranged spirally or occasionally opposite, obovate to ovate-elliptical, 20-45 cm × 14-32 cm, base broadly cuneate to subcordate, apex shortly acuminate, margin denticulate, with 5-10 pairs of lateral veins, thinly hairy above, hispidulous velutinate below, stipules 2-4.5 cm long.
• Figs on stout, leafless twigs, pyriform, 25-30 mm in diameter, villous but glabrescent, yellow-green; male flowers in 2-3 rows, subsessile, with 1 stamen, female flowers subsessile to stipitate, with cupular, short perianth.

F. pachyrrachis is found in lowland to montane forest, up to 1500 m altitude.

Selected sources

• [281] Corner, E.J.H., 1965. Check-list of Ficus in Asia and Australia. Gardens' Bulletin, Singapore 21: 1-186.
• [604] Holdsworth, D.K., 1993. Medicinal plants of the Oro (Northern) Province of Papua New Guinea. International Journal of Pharmacognosy 31: 23-28.
• [723] Khan, I.A., Rali, T. & Sticher, O., 1993. Alkaloids from Ficus pachyrhachis. Planta Medica 59(3): 286.
• [1104] Paijmans, K. (Editor), 1976. New Guinea vegetation. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 209 pp.

24, 31. vegetables : à retrouver

Main genus page

• Ficus (Medicinal plants)

Authors

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