Large Ficus - Large Ficus

An evergreen wisteria of the family Moraceae (APG classification: Moraceae). It branches well, puts out adventitious roots, climbs up other plants, and covers them with many leaves. The leaves are alternate, stalked, elliptical or oblong, 4-10 cm long, thick and leathery, entire, and the underside is powdery white with stomata covered with hairs, which prevents transpiration from the few stomata inside and makes it resistant to dryness. The fig-like inflorescence is almost pear-shaped, about 3 cm in diameter, and purple when ripe. It is said to be dioecious, but there are apparently also dioecious plants. It grows thickly and covers the surfaces of cliffs and stone walls, and grows in the Kanto region and west of Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa, and is distributed in southern mainland China, Taiwan, and Indochina. In Okinawa, it is used to reinforce stone walls.

[Keiichi Shimabukuro December 13, 2019]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

クワ科（APG分類：クワ科）の常緑藤本(とうほん)。よく分枝して不定根を出し他物によじ登り、葉を多くつけて覆い隠す。葉は互生し有柄、楕円(だえん)ないし長楕円形、長さ4～10センチメートル、厚い革質で全縁、裏面は粉白色で毛に覆われた気孔室があり、中の数個の気孔からの蒸散を防ぎ乾燥に強い。いちじく状花序はほぼ洋ナシ形で径約3センチメートル、熟すと紫色を帯びる。雌雄異株とされるが同株もあるらしい。崖(がけ)や石垣などの表面を覆って茂り、本州の関東地方以西、四国、九州、沖縄に生育し、中国大陸南部、台湾、インドシナに分布する。沖縄では石垣の補強に賞用される。

［島袋敬一　2019年12月13日］

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