Ficus rumphii

Ficus rumphii Blume, Bijdr. 437 1825. (Syn: Ficus affinior Griff.; Ficus conciliorum Oken; Ficus cordifolia Roxb. [Illegitimate]; Ficus coriacea Aiton; Ficus damit Gagnep.; Ficus populiformis Schott ex Miq.; Ficus populnea Kunth & C.D.Bouché [Illegitimate]; Urostigma cordifolium (Roxb.) Miq.; Urostigma rumphii (Blume) Miq.);

India (Throughout, ascending to 1,700 m), Bhutan, China, Indochina, Malesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand as per Synopsis of the Genus Ficus L. (Moraceae) in India Lal Babu Chaudhary*, Jana Venkata Sudhakar, Anoop Kumar, Omesh Bajpai, Rinkey Tiwari and G. V. S. Murthy- Taiwania, 57(2): 193-216, 2012;

As per efi thread :

It’s leaves (Oval with broad base & short pointy apex) are sometimes confusing with that of Peepal (Ficus religiosa– nearly triangular heart shaped at base with long pointy tip).

As per efi thread :

There are two key features in the leaves to distinguish: Leaf base is cordate and tail at tip shorter than 2.5 cm in F. arnottiana. In F. religiosa the leaf base is rounded to slightly cuneate and tail at tip much longer, usually longer than 3 cm and contributing about one third of leaf length. The leaves may be undulate and variously thick in both, depending on age.

F. rumphii is similar to F. religiosa in leaf base being truncate or rounded, although tail is 1.5-2.5 cm long like F. arnottiana.

Another interesting feature worth comparison is that C. religiosa has three basal veins (one midrib, two lateral), F. rumphii has 5 and R. arnottiana 7, in both latter lowermost pair is very faint.

Trunk of F. religiosa is darker with reddish brown with scales peeling off where as F. rumphii is much brighter with grey or whitish colour and most often comparatively smoother.

Quiz : which Ficus is this? from Hooghly:

Species : Likely to be Ficus infectoria Roxb.

Habit & Habitat : tree, wild, cohabiting Phoenix sp.

Date : 20-04-12, 3.40 p.m. & 14-02-12, 4.20 p.m.
Place : Hooghly, WB

This is possibly Ficus rumphii and it is not cohabiting but strangling the Wild Date Palm tree. Please refer to my mails on ‘Strangler Fig trees’

Thank you Sir for the info… an interesting short discussion here – http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/57823/

Am reproducing here some of my previous correspondence on this :

25^th July 2008

Most Fig trees belong to a group called Primary Hemiepiphytes.

A Parasite taps into the vascular system of the host plant for water and nutrients.

An Epiphyte only takes support on the host tree while drawing water and nutrients from wherever they can get them.

A Hemiepiphyte, by definition, switches survival strategy over its lifetime.

A Primary Hemiepiphyte such as a Fig tree begins life as a canopy epiphyte. After a few years having accumulated sufficient reserves, it sends a root abruptly down to earth. Once a connection has been established the plant can now reach a huge size by sending down more roots. In ‘Strangler Figs’ the roots remain plastered against the trunk of the host tree and may coalesce to form a cramped basket around the trunk ultimately crushing it to death. The tree corpse then rots and falls away and the strangler then continues to grow as a regular tree.

In Secondary Hemiepiphytes such as Philodendrons and Monstera– they start at ground level as vines and then work their way up into the canopy. Eventually the vine’s terrestrial roots become superfluous and its stem dies at the tree base and the plant continues its life as an epiphyte.

April 2008.
In the tropical rain forests, strangler figs start their lives as epiphytes in the canopy approximately 200 feet above the ground. [Our specimens in the Indian sub-continent are dwarfed by their tropical counterparts.] Once it has established itself it sends a root abruptly down to earth. Soon more roots are sent down the trunk of the support tree, plastered against its trunk. In extreme forms of stranglers the roots coalesce to form a cramped basket around the tree trunk. Then as the tree attempts to grow they crush it to death. The strangler also affects the support tree by overshadowing it with its dense foliage thereby interfering with its photosynthesis and competing with its roots for nutrients and water.

The strangler fig impedes expansion of the tree which is absolutely necessary for the trees survival as in the trunk new vessels must periodically replace dying ones. If rings of vessels cannot be added by increasing trunk girth, nutrients and water cease to flow.

This is why strangler figs seldom kill palm trees as palms have thick, hard barks and do not need to grow in diameter to replace their vessels.

The Pipal tree seems especially malicious. Starting as an epiphyte, it drives roots into the host, literally tearing it apart. The tree corpse, cradled in the arms of its slayer then rots and falls away.

At my farm at Shahapur [near Bombay], I have an old Banyan tree that started life as a strangler as evidenced by the void left behind where the supporting tree once stood.

[Have not been able to establish the identity of the original tree though].

Am sending a few photographs as attachments.

Thank you very much Sir, i have read a part of it at – efi thread. I understand that it is an epiphyte.

According to this link http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/57823/ foliage of F. rumphii is evergreen but my images tell me that my tree is deciduous.

Ficus rumphii.

Yes, my images tally with Ficus rumphii as in – http://resources.edb.gov.hk/~trees2/29/29_photo.html

But,

1) What about “Wavy-leaved Fig” as in – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficus?

2) Again, what about this claim – “Actually, this species is very common in Bangladesh and is found in abundance in the wild. I was earlier told by someone that the correct name would be F. infectoria. But some Indian books had named it F. rumphii. …” in – http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/57823/

Yet, i understand that this post, by … shows different figs.
Confusion still remains with me….

Looks like Ficus rumphii Blume as per images herein.

This is Ficus rumphii Blume

is this also Ficus rumphii ? from Hooghly 03-05-12 SK-1: 9 images.

Found this very very big tree on roadside. Is this also Ficus rumphii ?

Species : UNKNOWN

Habit & Habitat : tree, very big, roadside

Date : 03-05-12, 9.52 a.m.
Place : Gobra (Hooghly), WB

I think this is Ficus rumphii.

Everybody here call this tree as PAKUR in Bengali, whereas the scientific name given for the PAKUR in the book “Plants Group” and also at https://groups.google.com/ficus$20infectoria/indiantreepix/ngJ is Ficus infectoria !

what i want to tell you is that these Bengali names of various plants differ regionally. Take the case of Plumeria rubra, we call it GULANCHA here, but one of my friends from North Bengal tells me that they call it KATH-GOLAP.

I’ll add to your confusion:)
Plumeria rubra in south 24 paraganas are called Kath-champa…. and people will swear that that’s what the correct name is!!!! while folks at KolBotG, esp their gardeners will call it (authoritatively) that its called Garuda-champa because one of their old bosses who wrote a book used to call it that!!! Bojo tthela…
and Gualncha/Gulancha is Guduchi, or Tinospora cordifolia, there is regular gulancha and then there is padma gulancha the latter has a very knobby surface and both are sold green or fresh by Ayurvedic shops and street vendors who sell the navagraha mula/roots … I have seen some well organized shop(s) with big painted advertisement tin boards on railway platforms of local trains in some towns in south 24 paraganas… this padma gulancha comes from deep recesses of the sunderbans they tell me…

LONG LIVE THE LATINIZED NAME

This should be Ficus rumphii and the plant on the link also is Ficus rumphii and not Ficus virens.
I really dream some one some day takes up the task of doing some research on Ficus of India. There are so many species!!!!

I also heard the name GARUDA / GARUR CHAMPA and also know the name GULANCHA-LATA… know that Gulancha-lata is a climber, but didn’t know the plant or its scientific name. But PADMA GULANCHA is new to me.

It helps more when the taxonomic keys are well defined for the classification and then further defined for the regional differences and the key then helps even lay people in id properly… like the wild crafter who really bring in the Ayurvedic herbs to towns and manufactureres and wholesale intermediaries…

Thank you very much … for solving two problems at one go – 1) confirming the ID of this one and 2) the ID confusion over my previous post of another ficus.

Now, there is no darkness before my eyes….

Today i have captured two climbers. Attaching those images. Is it the same Tinospora cordifolia we were talking about this morning

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SYMBIOSIS : 325 : 1 image. 1 post by 1 author.
Attaching an image of a Crimson Breasted Barbet bird on the fruit of Ficus rumphii.

SYMBIOSIS: 324 : 1 image. 3 posts by 3 authors.
Attaching an image of a Redvented Bulbul on the fruits of Ficus rumphii. This tree is known as PILKHAN in Hindi and GAIASWAT in Bangla.

Beautiful combo.

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Hooghly Today : old building : Attachments (4). 8 posts by 4 authors.
I don’t know why i am very drawn to old buildings. When i see one i begin to think who lived here… where they are now or their descendants, if the owner had any beautiful daughter or daughter-in-law… sorts of thing!!!
While looking at this building i noticed a Ficus and thought we have Ficus lovers in our group 🙂

Look like….Ficus arnottiana….
Once we recorded in Dry Deciduous forest of Gujarat State-Arwallli Hill Range near Mt.Abu.
Is it possible to get photograph of Receptacles/Fruits???for further confirmation…?

This is not Ficus arnottiana.

Seems like Ficus rumphii to me.

At the time of recording this tree i was thinking of Ficus rumphii Bl. I have earlier posts of F. rumphii – efi thread.

Now, i see that F. arnottiana also looks very similar. But the herbarium found in http://envis.frlht.org/showherbarium.php?d=958 shows cordate leaves in F. arnottiana Miq.

I think my species matches with –

However, it will take be very hard to get its fruits. I will try.

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For Id 220212 ARK1: ID requested for Ficus variety:
Please find below the picture of a plant (probably a ficus) clicked in January 2013, Mumbai.
ID of the plant is requested. It is a common bonsai plant and is called Ficus bodhi in Mumbai bonsai parlance.

Ficus rumphii Blume