5 Ficus ingens - Red-leaved Rock Fig Seeds - RSA Indigenous Bonsai + Growing Bonsai eBook

Ficus ingens Bonsai Seeds

Red-leaved Fig

Ficus is a pan-tropical genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Ficus occupies a wide variety of ecological niches; most are evergreen, but some deciduous species are endemic to areas outside of the tropics and to higher elevations. Fig species are characterized by their unique inflorescence and distinctive pollination syndrome, which utilizes wasp species belonging to the Agaonidae family for pollination. The fruit of most species are edible though they are usually of only local economic importance or eaten as bushfood. However, they are extremely important food resources for wildlife. Figs are also of considerable cultural importance throughout the tropics, both as objects of worship and for their many practical uses. Ficus ingens commonly known as Red-leaved Fig or Red-leaved Rock Fig in English and Rooiblaar-rotsvy, Rooiblaarvy, Wildevy, Wildevye and Wildevyeboom in Afrikaans is a semi-deciduous, shady tree or rock-splitter, and a beautiful specimen for a large rockery, but because of its aggressive root- system, it is not recommended for small gardens. It can make a magnificent bonsai specimen or container plant—a showy tree in early spring with its red or coppery new leaves. It is indigenous to South Africa with a provincial distribution which extends to Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West.