Ficus fraseri

{{short description|Species of fig}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Ficus fraseri 1.jpg

|parent = Ficus subg. Sycidium

|taxon = Ficus fraseri

|authority = Miq.

|synonyms = *Ficus aspera var. subglabra Benth.

• Ficus aspera var. abbreviata Miq.
• Ficus subglabra (Benth.) F.Muell.
• Ficus stenocarpa F.Muell. ex Benth.
• Ficus stephanocarpa var. subglabra (Benth.) Maiden & Betche
• Ficus proteus Bureau

|}}

Ficus fraseri, the white sandpaper fig or shiny sandpaper fig, is one of several fig species commonly known as sandpaper figs. It is native to the northern and eastern coasts of Australia, and to New Caledonia and Vanuatu. Other common names are "figwood" and "watery fig".{{APNI | name = Ficus fraseri | id = 37046}}{{cite web|url=http://www.endemia.nc/plante/fiche.php?code=4088|title=Ficus fraseri|work=Endémía – Faune & Flore de Nouvelle-Calédonie|accessdate=2008-07-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716090132/http://www.endemia.nc/plante/fiche.php?code=4088|archive-date=16 July 2011|url-status=dead}}

It grows as either a shrub or tree with height ranging from around 6 to 15 metres.{{cite book|author= Nicholson, Nan & Hugh | title= Australian Rainforest Plants |publisher=Terania Rainforest Nursery|location=New South Wales | year=1985 | isbn=0958943605}}

Its leaves are 6 to 14 cm long and 2.5 to 6.5 cm wide on petioles that are 1 to 2 cm long. The rounded figs are 1 to 1.5 cm long and start out yellow in colour, maturing to orange-red between May and February in the species' native range. They are edible, but insipid.{{cite book|author=Low, T.| title=Wild Food Plants Of Australia| publisher=Angus & Robertson|location= Australia | year=1991 | isbn=0207169306}}

In Australia, the species occurs from Tuggerah Lake in New South Wales, northwards to the Atherton Tableland in Queensland, and rarely in the Northern Territory.

The grey-headed flying fox feeds on the figs.{{cite web|url=http://batcall.csu.edu.au/abs/pdffiles/p26ghff.pdf |title=Diet list for Grey-headed Flying-fox Pteropus poliocephalus |publisher=Australasian Bat Society Inc. |date=July 2001 |accessdate=2008-07-12 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070831093115/http://batcall.csu.edu.au/abs/pdffiles/p26ghff.pdf |archivedate=2007-08-31 }}

Although rarely seen in cultivation, it is a fast-growing, ornamental species that can be easily propagated from seed.