| Ficus lyrata | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Moraceae |
| Genus: | Ficus |
| Subgenus: | Urostigma |
| Species: | F. lyrata |
| Binomial name | |
| Ficus lyrata Warb. |
|
Ficus lyrata (a.k.a. Ficus pandurata), commonly known as the fiddle-leaf fig, is a species of fig tree, native to western Africa, from Cameroon west to Sierra Leone. It grows in lowland tropical rainforest.
It is a banyan fig (Ficus subgenus Urostigma) that commonly starts life as an epiphyte high in the crown of another tree; it then sends roots down to the ground which envelop the trunk of the host tree and slowly strangles it. It can also grow as a free-standing tree on its own, growing up to 12-15 m (40-50 ft) tall. The leaves are variable in shape, but often with a broad apex and narrow middle, resembling a fiddle; they are up to 45 cm (18 in) long and 30 cm (12 in) broad, though usually smaller, with a leathery texture and a wavy margin. The fruit is a green fig 2.5-3 cm (1-ΒΌ in) diameter.
It is a popular ornamental tree in subtropical and tropical gardens, and is also grown as a houseplant, where it usually stays shorter when put into pots than when grown outdoors. Its main horticultural feature are its large leaves, shaped somewhat like a lyre. Like other fig species, it can grow to a large tree if planted in the ground. Like most figs, it is frost tender.