Ficus pumila
{{Short description|Species of climbing fig}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Creeping fig
|image = Ficus pumila (Leafs).jpg
|image_caption = F. pumila foliage
|genus = Ficus
|parent = Ficus subg. Synoecia
|species = pumila
|authority = L. 1753 not Thunb. 1786
|display_parents = 4
|synonyms_ref=[http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2811930 The Plant List, Ficus pumila L. ]
|synonyms={{collapsible list|bullets = true
|Ficus hanceana Maxim.
|Ficus longipedicellata H.Perrier
|Ficus pumila var. lutchuensis Koidz.
|Ficus repens var. lutchuensis Koidz.
|Ficus scandens Lam.
|Ficus stipulata Thunb. 1786
|Ficus stipulata Lem. 1843
|Ficus vestita Desf.
|Plagiostigma pumila Zucc.
|Plagiostigma stipulata Zucc.
|Tenorea heterophylla Gasp.
|Urostigma scandens (Lam.) Liebm.
|Varinga repens Raf.
}}}}
Ficus pumila, commonly known as the creeping fig or climbing fig, is a species of flowering plant in the mulberry family, native to East Asia (China, Japan, Vietnam)[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=233500650 Flora of China, Ficus pumila Linnaeus, 1753. 薜荔 bi li ] and naturalized in parts of the southeastern and south-central United States.[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500650 Flora of North America, Ficus pumila Linnaeus, 1753. Climbing fig ][http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Ficus%20pumila.png Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map] It is also found in cultivation as a houseplant. The Latin specific epithet pumila means "dwarf",{{cite book |language=fr |last=Gaffiot |first=Félix |date=1934 |title=Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français |place=Paris |publisher=Librairie Hachette |page=1278 |url=http://www.lexilogos.com/latin/gaffiot.php?q=pumilus |access-date=23 October 2016}} and refers to the very small leaves of the plant.
Description
Ficus pumila is a woody evergreen liana, growing to {{convert|2.5|-|4|m|0|abbr=on}}. It can grow up to {{convert|9|-|12|m|0|abbr=on}} tall if it isn't regularly pruned.[https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2029/#b Ficus Species, Climbing Fig, Creeping Ficus, Creeping Fig] by Dave's Garden The juvenile foliage is much smaller and thinner than mature leaves produced as the plant ages. The leaves are oval, cordate, asymmetrical, with opposite veins. It is creeping or can behave like a liana and also climb trees, rocks, etc. up to 4 m in height or more. The aerial roots secrete a translucent latex that hardens on drying, allowing the sticks to adhere to their support.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}
Cultivation
As the common name, "creeping fig" indicates, the plant has a creeping/vining habit and is often used in gardens and landscapes where it covers the ground and climbs up trees and walls. It is hardy down to {{convert| 1|C|F|abbr=on}}{{cite web | url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 39 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date = 27 February 2018}} and does not tolerate frost. Therefore in temperate regions it is often seen as a houseplant. It is fast-growing and requires little in the way of care. It can be invasive when environmental conditions are favorable. Its secondary roots or tendrils can cause structural damage to certain buildings with fragile mortar or structures made of fragile materials.
It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.{{cite web|title=Ficus pumila AGM|url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/7210/Ficus-pumila/Details |publisher=Royal Horticultural Society|access-date=4 July 2020}}
The plant requires the fig wasp Blastophaga pumilae for pollination, and is fed upon by larvae of the butterfly Marpesia petreus.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}
Varieties and cultivars
- Ficus pumila var. awkeotsang — awkeotsang creeping fig
- Ficus pumila var. quercifolia — oak leaf creeping fig
- Ficus pumila 'Curly' — curly creeping fig; crinkled leaf form
- Ficus pumila 'Variegata' and Ficus pumila 'Snowflake' — variegated creeping fig; variegated foliage
Cuisine
The fruit of Ficus pumila var. awkeotsang is used in cuisine. In Taiwan, its fruit is turned inside out and dried. The seeds are scraped off and a gel is extracted from their surface with water and allowed to set and form a jelly known in Taiwan as aiyu jelly (or aiyuzi 愛玉子) and in Singapore as ice jelly (文頭雪).
Toxicity
Like other plant species in the family Moraceae, contact with the milky sap of Ficus pumila can cause phytophotodermatitis,{{cite journal |last1=Rademaker |first1=M. |last2=Derraik |first2=J. G. |title=Phytophotodermatitis caused by Ficus pumila |journal=Contact Dermatitis |date=July 2012 |volume=67 |issue=1 |pages=53–56 |doi=10.1111/j.1600-0536.2012.02026.x |pmid=22681467|s2cid=39421000 }} a potentially serious skin inflammation. Although the plant is not poisonous per se, F. pumila is listed in the FDA Database of Poisonous Plants.{{cite web |title=FDA Poisonous Plant Database |url=https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/plantox/detail.cfm?id=8352 |publisher=U.S. Food & Drug Administration |access-date=11 December 2018 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004024609/https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/plantox/detail.cfm?id=8352 |url-status=dead }}
Gallery
File:Warren Wilson Beach House (The Venice Beach House), Venice, California.JPG|Growing on Warren Wilson Beach House in Venice, CA
File:Ficus pumila = ficus repens.JPG|Habit on a wall
File:Ficus pumila.jpg|Vigorous growth on a wall
File:Ficus pumila, lenteloof, b, Pretoria.jpg|Close-up of the leaves and brown stipules
File:Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften - Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe (1858) (20665373299), Ficus pumila.jpg|Nature printed leaves, showing shape and venation
File:Ficus pumila fruits (RaeA).jpg|Syconia (figs)
File:F pumila.jpg|Inverted and dried fig of F. p. var. awkeotsang, ready for use
File:Feuilles de Ficus pumila.jpg|Leaves from oldest to youngest
File:Ficus pumila variegata 0zz.jpg|Variegated leaves
File:Ficus Pumila Half Syconia.jpg|Half cut of Ficus Pumila Syconia
References
{{Commons category|Ficus pumila}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2360517}}
Category:Flora of Eastern Asia
Category:Garden plants of Asia