Covellia conglomerata (Roxb.) Miq.
Covellia cunia (B.Ham. ex Roxb.) Miq.
Covellia inaequiloba Miq.
Ficus conglomerata Roxb.
Ficus cuneata (Miq.) Wall. ex King
Ficus cunia Buch.-Ham. ex Roxb.
Ficus hapalophylla Kurz
Tremotis cordata Raf.
Common Name: Wedgeleaf Fig
Wedgeleaf fig is a tree with a flat, spreading, umbrella-like crown, it can grow 3 - 10 metres tall[
]. The bole is 15 - 25cm in diameter[
The tree is gathered from the wild for its edible fruit, fibre and medicinal properties. It is also cultivated as a shade tree along the sides of roads[
E. Asia - India, southern China, India, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia.
Forest margins, valleys, along trails at elevations of 600 - 1,900 metres in southern China[
|Other Uses Rating||
|Cultivation Status||Ornamental, Wild
Fig trees have a unique form of fertilization, each species relying on a single, highly specialized species of wasp that is itself totaly dependant upon that fig species in order to breed. The trees produce three types of flower; male, a long-styled female and a short-styled female flower, often called the gall flower. All three types of flower are contained within the structure we usually think of as the fruit.
The female fig wasp enters a fig and lays its eggs on the short styled female flowers while pollinating the long styled female flowers. Wingless male fig wasps emerge first, inseminate the emerging females and then bore exit tunnels out of the fig for the winged females. Females emerge, collect pollen from the male flowers and fly off in search of figs whose female flowers are receptive. In order to support a population of its pollinator, individuals of a Ficus spp. must flower asynchronously. A population must exceed a critical minimum size to ensure that at any time of the year at least some plants have overlap of emmission and reception of fig wasps. Without this temporal overlap the short-lived pollinator wasps will go locally extinct[
Fruit - raw[
]. A pleasant, sweet-sour flavour somwhat like gooseberries (Ribes uva-crispa)[
]. The figs are up to 15mm in diameter[
The juice of the roots is applied to treat headaches, and is also recommended for fevers and menstrual disorders[
The bark, combined with Schima wallichii and Syzygium cumini, is used to treat gastric troubles and peptic ulcers[
The immature fruit is used to treat constipation[
]. A paste of the fruit is applied to the forehead to relieve headaches[
The latex is used to treat children with fevers[
The bark yields a fibre used in making ropes[
Seed - germinates best at a temperature around 20°c[
Tip cuttings around 4 - 12cm long, taken from lateral branches[
If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.