Ficus cordata
{{short description|Species of plant in the family Moraceae}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Namaqua rock fig
|image = Ficus cordata IMG 8502.JPG
|image_caption = In the Fish River Canyon, Namibia
|status = LC
|status_system = IUCN3.1
|parent = Ficus subg. Urostigma
|taxon = Ficus cordata
|authority = Thunb.
}}
Ficus cordata, the Namaqua rock fig, or Namaqua fig{{cite web |title=Ficus cordata |url=http://pza.sanbi.org/ficus-cordata |website=PlantZAfrica |publisher=SA National Biodiversity Institute |access-date=22 May 2021}} is a species of fig that occurs in two disjunct populations in Africa, one in the arid southwest of the continent, and a second in the northern subtropics. In the south it is often the largest and most prominent tree,{{cite book |last1=Moll |first1=Eugene |title=Watter Boom is dit? |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-77007-832-1}} and is virtually restricted to cliff faces and rock outcrops,{{cite web|last1=Van Noort |first1=S., Rasplus, J. |title=Ficus cordata cordata Thunberg 1786 |url=http://www.figweb.org/Ficus/Subgenus_Urostigma/Section_Urostigma/Subsection_Urostigma/Ficus_cordata_cordata.htm |website=Figweb |publisher=Iziko Museums |accessdate=18 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105163920/http://www.figweb.org/Ficus/Subgenus_Urostigma/Section_Urostigma/Subsection_Urostigma/Ficus_cordata_cordata.htm |archivedate=5 November 2014 }} where it has a rock-splitting habit.{{cite web |last1=Burring |first1=Jan |title=Ficus abutilifolia (Miq.) Miq. |url=http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantefg/ficusabuti.htm |website=PlantZAfrica.com |publisher=SANBI |accessdate=16 November 2014}}
Subspecies
- F. c. cordata – southwestern Africa
- F. c. lecardii (Warb.) C.C.Berg – Senegal to central Africa{{cite web|last1=Van Noort |first1=S., Rasplus, J. |title=Ficus cordata lecardii (Warburg) C.C. Berg 1988 |url=http://www.figweb.org/Ficus/Subgenus_Urostigma/Section_Urostigma/Subsection_Urostigma/Ficus_cordata_lecardii.htm |website=Figweb |publisher=Iziko Museums |accessdate=18 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129041521/http://www.figweb.org/Ficus/Subgenus_Urostigma/Section_Urostigma/Subsection_Urostigma/Ficus_cordata_lecardii.htm |archivedate=29 November 2014 }}
Range and habitat
The nominate subspecies is native to arid western South Africa, Namibia and southwestern Angola, while a second subspecies is native to Africa's northern subtropics. The nominate subspecies is found in fynbos, succulent Karoo and Nama Karoo, while the northern subspecies is found in savannah, up to 1,500 m above sea level.
Species associations
The nominate subspecies is pollinated by the wasp Platyscapa desertorum Compton. The wasp Comptoniella vannoorti Wiebes is an associated non-pollinator that oviposits through the fig wall. The pollinator wasp of the northern subspecies, F. c. lecardii, is as yet unknown.
Similar species
F. salicifolia,{{cite web |title=Ficus salicifolia Vahl |url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-2812165 |work=The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1 |publisher= |accessdate=6 November 2014}} the Wonderboom, is sometimes deemed a third subspecies of Ficus cordata, i.e. F. c. subsp. salicifolia (Vahl) C.C.Berg, but it lacks the yellowish sessile figs of F. cordata, and its range is much to the east.
