Ficus uncinata
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{speciesbox
|image =
|image_caption =
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
|genus = Ficus
|species = uncinata
|synonyms =
- Ficus geocarpa var. uncinata King
- Ficus uncinata var. gracilis Corner
- Ficus uncinata var. parva Corner
- Ficus uncinata var. pilosior Corner
- Ficus uncinata var. subbeccarii Corner
- Ficus uncinata var. truncata Corner
|range_map =
|range_map_caption =
}}
Ficus uncinata, also known as earth fig in English and as ara entimau in Iban, is a species of flowering plant, a fruit tree in the fig family, that is native to Southeast Asia.{{cite book |last=Lamb |first=Anthony |author-link=Anthony Lamb (botanist) |date=2019 |title= A guide to wild fruits of Borneo|series= |volume= |url= |location=Kota Kinabalu |publisher=Natural History Publications (Borneo) |page=194 |isbn=978-983-812-191-0}}
Description
The species grows as a shrub or small tree to 8 m in height, with a bole of up to {{cvt|2|m}}, from which stolons extend along the ground surface for up to {{cvt|10|m}}. The hairy, greenish-brown leaves are {{cvt|21–27|cm}} long by {{cvt|10–11|cm}} wide. The inflorescences occur along the stolons. The pink, red or brownish-purple fruits are {{cvt|2–4|cm}} in diameter, and are covered by spine-like bracts.
The ground-level figs are eaten and the seeds dispersed by pigs, deer, ground squirrels and rats. The function of the bracts is to prevent the fruits being swallowed whole by ground-level seed predators, such as pheasants and partridges.{{cite book |last1=Phillipps |first1=Quentin |last2=Phillipps |first2=Karen |author-link= |date=2016 |title= Phillipps' Field Guide to the Mammals of Borneo and their Ecology|series= |volume= |url= |location=Oxford, UK |publisher=John Beaufoy Publishing |page=77 |isbn=978-1-906780-92-0}}
Distribution and habitat
The species is found in Borneo and possibly in Sumatra. It occurs along streams and in hill areas and mountain forest up to an elevation of {{cvt|2000|m|ft|-1}}.
References
{{reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from1= Q15479208}}
Category:Fruits originating in Asia
Category:Plants described in 1888
Category:Taxa named by George King (botanist)
{{fruit-tree-stub}}
{{Moraceae-stub}}