Ficus ulmifolia (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Ficus ulmifolia Lamk

Family: Moraceae

Vernacular names

• Philippines: isis (Tagalog), agupit (Bikol), apas (Igorot).

Distribution

Endemic in the Philippines.

Uses

The fruits are edible, but have little flavour; sometimes eaten with sugar and cream. The hard and rough leaves are used to clean cooking utensils and to scour wood.

Observations

• Shrub or small tree, 3-5 m tall.
• Leaves variable in shape, 9-17 cm × 4-8 cm.
• Fruit a fig, subglobose, about 1.5 cm long, orange-red to purple, axillary, solitary or in pairs.

In thickets and open places, up to 1500 m altitude.

Selected sources

• Brown, W.H., 1951-1957. Useful plants of the Philippines. Reprint of the 1941-1943 ed. 3 Volumes. Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Technical Bulletin 10. Bureau of Printing, Manila, the Philippines.

• Corner, E.J.H., 1965. Check-list of Ficus in Asia and Australasia with keys to identification. The Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 21: 1-186.

• Merrill, E.D., 1923 1925. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants. 4 Volumes. Government of the Philippine Islands, Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Bureau of Printing, Manila.

Authors

P.C.M. Jansen, J. Jukema, L.P.A. Oyen, T.G. van Lingen