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Ficus polita, the heart-leaved fig, is a species of fig that is native to forests of tropical Africa,

Ficus polita
Specimen in Pretoria, South Africa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Moraceae
Genus:	Ficus
Species:	F. polita
Binomial name
Ficus polita Vahl, 1805

Distribution

The tree is found in Lowland rainforest and gallery forest (west and central Africa), coastal & dry forest (east and southern African coast), and on Madagascar. It grows up to elevations of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft).[1]

Description

Ficus polita is similar to the Pondoland fig, (Ficus bizanae), an endemic tropical forest species in South Africa. The leaves have entire margins and are often heart-shaped, with the tip acuminate.[2]

The figs are borne on old wood, in small clusters on stumpy branchlets.[2]

The pollinating wasp is Courtella bekiliensis bekiliensis (Risbec) in Madagascar, and Courtella bekiliensis bispinosa (Wiebes) on the African mainland.[1]

Gallery

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  Bark texture
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  Leaf shape
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  Fig clusters
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  Fig

References

External links

• Media related to Ficus polita at Wikimedia Commons

• Ficus polita in West African plants – A Photo Guide.

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