Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Ficus carica
Common name
Fig
Family
Moraceae
Where found
Garden escape. Urban bushland, near habitations, moist sites, wetlands, and along streams. Mainly Sydney area and in inland towns and cities. Rarely elsewhere.
Notes
Introduced deciduous tree to 10 m high. Often producing suckers from the base of the tree and the spreading root system. Fruit fleshy, edible. Leaves alternating up the stems, 5–35 cm long, 50–350 mm wide, 3–7 lobed, upper surface bristly to almost hairless, lower surface hairy, margins almost entire to scalloped; bases cordate to squared off, tips rounded. Male and female flowers functionally on different trees. Individual flowers very small, inside the figs. Figs purple when mature, almost round, pear-shaped or oval, about 30–60 mm long, covered with minute, soft, hairs. Figs single or in pairs at the bases of the leaves or on previous seasons branches. Flowers mainly summer.
VICFLORA description: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/252e0ed3-2cf1-44c2-b653-f95076f0091a (accessed 12 February 2021)
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