Ficus retusa
| Ficus retusa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Moraceae |
| Genus: | Ficus |
| Species: | F. retusa |
| Binomial name | |
| Ficus retusa L. | |
Ficus retusa, the Cuban-laurel (junior synonym of Ficus microcarpa), is a species of evergreen woody plant in the fig genus, native to the Malay Archipelago and Malesia floristic region.
Description
Ficus retusa is a rapidly growing, rounded, broad-headed, evergreen shrub or tree that can reach 15 metres (49 ft) or more in height with an equal spread. The smooth, light grey trunk is quite striking, can grow to around 1 metre (3.3 ft) in diameter, and it firmly supports the massively spreading canopy. The largest known specimen is "Auntie Sarah's Banyan" at the Menehune Botanical Gardens near Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawai'i which is 33.53 metres (110.0 ft) in height, 76.2 metres (250 ft) in crown spread, with over one thousand aerial trunks.[1] [2] [3] [4] The F. retusa with the thickest trunk is also in Hawai'i, at Keaau Village, Puna District, on the Big Island. Its main trunk is 8.53 metres (28.0 ft) thick at breast height. It is also 59.44 metres (195.0 ft) in limb spread.[5]
The glossy, dark green, leathery leaves are densely clothed on large, somewhat weeping branches and are usually infested with Cuban laurel thrips. New growth, produced all year long, is a light rose to chartreuse color, giving the tree a lovely two-toned effect. "[6]
Variety
Ficus microcarpa (Indian laurel), sometimes classified a F. retusa variety as Ficus retusa var. nitida King,[7] also known as banyan fig, Taiwan fig, ginseng fig, also native to Malesia floristic region and Indochina floristic region, and the Indomalaya ecozone.
The tree has small, dark green leaves which alternate up the stem and which are oval. It has a gray to reddish bark dotted with small, horizontal flecks, called lenticels, and are used by woody plant species for supplementary gas exchange through the bark. It is considered one of the easiest trees to keep as a Bonsai.
Invasive species
Ficus retusa has been classified as an invasive species in southern Florida by the USDA.
Notes
- ↑ http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/05/17/news/story6.html
- ↑ http://thegardenisland.com/news/article_e6a3e76e-4f87-5d5e-a55e-a321a581dff5.html
- ↑ http://archives.starbulletin.com/2000/08/05/news/story2.html
- ↑ http://archives.starbulletin.com/2004/03/03/news/story18.html
- ↑ Lorna C. Littlecott, "Hawaii First", AMERICAN FORESTS Vol.75 # 2 (February 1969) p. 61
- ↑ Gilman, E., Watson, D.: Fact Sheet ST-255, a series of the Environmental Horticulture Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Publication date: November 1993.
- ↑ "The Plant List (2010). Version 1.". Retrieved 13 June 2013.
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