Ficus ilicina
{{Short description|Species of tree}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Laurel fig
|image = Ficus ilicina, Naukluft.jpg
|image_caption = In the Naukluft, Namibia
|parent = Ficus subg. Urostigma
|taxon = Ficus ilicina
|authority = (Sond.) Miq. 1864
|synonyms =
- Ficus guerichiana Engl.
- Urostigma ilicinum Sond.{{cite web |title=Ficus ilicina (Sond.) Miq., Synonyms |url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2810818 |work=The Plant List |date=2013 | publisher= |accessdate=18 November 2014}}
}}
The Laurel fig (Ficus ilicina) is a species of rock-splitting{{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}} fig that is native to the semi-desert regions of southwestern Africa. It is only found on rocks,{{cite web|last1=Curtis |first1=B., Mannheimer, C. |title=Ficus ilicina, Rock-splitting Fig |url=http://treeatlas.biodiversity.org.na/viewspec.php?nr=267 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141119001530/http://treeatlas.biodiversity.org.na/viewspec.php?nr=267 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-11-19 |date=2005 |website=Tree Atlas of Namibia |publisher=National Botanical Research Institute, Windhoek |accessdate=18 November 2014 }} up to an altitude of {{convert|1,300|m|abbr=on}}.{{cite web|last1=Van Noort |first1=S., Rasplus, J. |title=Ficus ilicina (Sonder) Miquel 1867 |url=http://www.figweb.org/Ficus/Subgenus_Urostigma/Section_Galoglychia/Subsection_Chlamydodorae/Ficus_ilicina.htm |website=Figweb |publisher=Iziko Museums |accessdate=18 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129040550/http://www.figweb.org/Ficus/Subgenus_Urostigma/Section_Galoglychia/Subsection_Chlamydodorae/Ficus_ilicina.htm |archivedate=29 November 2014 }}
Description
It is generally a scrambler on rocks, but also a medium-sized shrub, or rarely a large tree of {{convert|5|m|abbr=on}} tall or more. It is mostly evergreen, though a few are bare in spring, just before new foliage emerges. The elliptic leaves are more than twice as long as they are wide, shiny above and matte below. The sessile or stalked figs are produced in the summer months. They are about {{convert|1|cm|abbr=on}} in diameter and appear in the leaf axils near the branch tips.
Range
It occurs in southwestern Angola, the Namibian escarpment and Khomas hochland, and in the Northern Cape, South Africa.
Species associations
The pollinating wasp is Elisabethiella enriquesi (Grandi). The figs are eaten by birds and people.
References
{{Reflist}}