Ficus elastica prefers bright sunlight but not hot temperatures. It has a high tolerance for drought, but prefers humidity and thrives in wet, tropical conditions. Ornamental hybrids (such as Robusta) have been derived from "Ficus elastica" with broader, stiffer and more upright leaves than the wild form. Many such hybrids exist, often with variegated leaves. "Ficus elastica" yields a milky white latex, a chemical compound separate from its sap and carried and stored in different cells. This latex was formerly used to make rubber, but it should not be confused with the Pará rubber tree, the main commercial source of latex for
Ficus verruculosa Ficus verruculosa Ficus verruculosa, the water fig, is a species of fig from sub-saharan Africa. It is found from north eastern South Africa, northern Botswana and Namibia to Uganda and west to Nigeria in riverine and swamp fringes or grassland, always near water. It is pollinated by the wasp "Platyscapa binghami". The growth form of "Ficus verruculosa" is as a shrub, or weak-stemmed, sparsely branched shrub 0.2-0.6 m tall, less often a small tree up to 12m, often forming low, creeping thickets. Leaves oblong to lanceolate, 3.5-20 x 1.5-8.5 cm, leathery, hairless. Figs are produced mostly in pairs in leaf