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Fig Fig
Genus

Ficus

Called “Fig” in GBIF

Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. Many Ficus species are grown for their fruits, though only two species, the common fig and sycamore fig, are cultivated to any extent, with common fig being the type species and by far the most important. The fruit of most other species are also edible though they are usually of only local economic importance or eaten as bushfood. However, they are extremely important food resources for wildlife. Figs are also of considerable cultural importance throughout the tropics, both as objects of worship and for their many practical uses.

From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

1,218
accepted species in GBIF
Source: GBIF
9
plants on Plant News
8
research articles
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Plants in this genus

9 plants

Research on Ficus

8 articles

African fig leaf extract rivals a standard drug for arthritis relie...

Traditional healers across tropical Africa have long used fig tree leaves as medicine, and this s...

Europe PMC → · research article

Fig trees and wasps recognize each other through precisely matched ...

If you grow a common fig at home or spot one fruiting in a garden, you're watching a chemical con...

What science is finding about Ficus

Every article on Plant News that mentions a member of this genus, newest first.

A fig tree's leaves outperform a standard anti-parasite drug

The Ficus microcarpa (Chinese banyan or curtain fig) grown as a street tree or houseplant in many warm climates just showed...

Chinese Banyan (Ficus microcarpa) medicinal-plants / ethnobotany

Fig tree scents track family ties more than shared pollinators

If you've ever wondered how a fig tree calls in the one specific wasp species it needs to make fruit, this study shows the...

Fig plant-signaling / pollinators

Some city trees quietly soak up heavy metal pollution from soil

That scraggly street tree outside your window might be doing double duty as a pollution gauge, since certain species pull far...

Peepal (Ficus religiosa) phytoremediation / urban-ecology

African fig leaf extract rivals a standard drug for arthritis relief in rats

Traditional healers across tropical Africa have long used fig tree leaves as medicine, and this study offers lab evidence that...

Fig medicinal-plants / ethnobotany

Fig trees and wasps recognize each other through precisely matched scent proteins

If you grow a common fig at home or spot one fruiting in a garden, you're watching a chemical conversation between tree and...

Fig pollinators / plant-signaling

Phylogenetic history shapes the composition of floral scents in a specialized pollination mutualism.

Next time you walk past a strangler fig or spot a weeping fig in a botanic garden, know that its hidden floral perfume is a...

Fig plant-signaling / pollinators

Prebiotics characterization from traditional legumes and fruits sources and their synergistic effects on probiotic growth and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production.

Legumes and fruits you grow or buy at the farmers market — like mung beans and figs — may do far more than nourish your body...

Fig gut-microbiome / functional-foods