Ficus polita explained

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

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 1200m (3,900feet).^[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.

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]

Notes and References

1. Web site: van Noort . Simon; Rasplus, Jean-Yves . Ficus polita polita Vahl 1805 . Figweb . Iziko Museums . 2 March 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402091409/http://www.figweb.org/Ficus/Subgenus_Urostigma/Section_Galoglychia/Subsection_Caulocarpae/Ficus_polita_polita.htm . 2 April 2015 .
2. Book: Palmer, Eve . Eve Palmer

   . Eve Palmer . A Field Guide to the Trees of Southern Africa . 89 . 1977 . Collins . London, Johannesburg . 0-620-05468-9.