Ficus pseudopalma

{{Short description|Species of fig}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Starr 010820-0015 Ficus pseudopalma.jpg

|parent = Ficus subg. Sycomorus

|taxon = Ficus pseudopalma

|authority = Blanco

|synonyms = Ficus blancoi Elmer

Ficus haenkei Warb.

|synonyms_ref = {{cite web|url= https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:853498-1|title= Ficus pseudopalma Blanco|author=|date=n.d.|website=Plants of the World Online|publisher=The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|access-date= August 23, 2020}}

}}

Ficus pseudopalma is a species of fig, (subgenus Sycamorus) in the mulberry family (Moraceae). It is known by the common names Philippine fig, dracaena fig, and palm-leaf fig.{{GRIN | access-date = 21 January 2018}} In nature it is endemic to the Philippines, especially the island of Luzon. It is known elsewhere as an ornamental plant.

This is a shrub or rarely branching small tree growing erect with a naked unbranched mesocaul stem topped with a cluster of wavey-edged leaves to give it the appearance of a palm.Starr, F., et al. (2003). [http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/reports/pdf/ficus_pseudopalma.pdf Ficus pseudopalma Fact Sheet.] Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk. Indeed, the species name pseudopalma means "false palm".Food & Fertilizer Technology Center. (2003). [http://www.agnet.org/library/pt/2003003/pt2003003.pdf Fruit and vegetables from the tropical forest.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724225814/http://www.agnet.org/library/pt/2003003/pt2003003.pdf |date=2011-07-24 }} FFTC Practical Technology. The leaves are up to 30 -36 inches (75–90 cm) long{{cite book | last= Graf | first= Alfred Byrd | date= 1981 | title= Tropica | location= East Rutherford, N.J. | publisher= Roehrs Company | pages= 1006 & 661}} with a yellow midrib and edged with dull teeth. The edges of the leaf are elevated above the midrib, forming a sort of trough.{{cite book | last= Hogan | first= Sean | date= 2004 | title= Flora - The Gardener's Bible | location= Willoughby, New South Wales | publisher= Global Book Pub. Pty. Ltd. | page= 603 with photo | isbn= 1-74048-097-X }} The fruit is a dark green fig that grows in pairs, each fruit just over an inch long.

In Luzon, this plant occurs in grassland and forest habitat, where it is considered common.Villegas, K. L. and F. A. Pollisco Jr. (2008). [http://www.ums.edu.my/webv3/appl/sek_img/itbc/Karl%20L%20VILLEGAS.pdf Floral survey of Laiban sub-watershed in the Sierra Madre Mountain Range in the Philippines.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307134619/http://www.ums.edu.my/webv3/appl/sek_img/itbc/Karl%20L%20VILLEGAS.pdf |date=2012-03-07 }} Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation 4(1) 1-14. The new shoots of the plant are eaten as a type of vegetable, and there are a number of traditional medicinal uses, such as a remedy for kidney stones made from the leaves.Ragasa, C. Y., et al. (2009). [http://philjournalsci.dost.gov.ph/vol138no2/pdfs/Terpenoids%20and%20sterols%20from%20endemic%20end%20angered%20phil%20trees.pdf Terpenoids and sterols from the endemic and endangered Philippine trees Ficus pseudopalma and Ficus ulmifolia.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319232224/http://philjournalsci.dost.gov.ph/vol138no2/pdfs/Terpenoids%20and%20sterols%20from%20endemic%20end%20angered%20phil%20trees.pdf |date=2012-03-19 }} Philippine Journal of Science 138(2) 205. In Bicol Region the plant is known as Lubi-lubi and the leaves are cooked in coconut milk. In 2003 the leaves were sold in markets for US$0.74 per kilogram, and the plant can be grown in plantations without pesticides for an adequate profit.

This shrub has been used as a landscaping plant in Hawaii, but it never escaped cultivation or became established in the wild because the species of wasp that pollinates it was never brought to the islands.