Ficus lyrata

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 (syn. 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 strangle it. It can also grow as a free-standing tree on its own, growing up to 12–15 m (39–49 ft) tall. The leaves are variable in shape, but often with a broad apex and narrow middle, resembling a lyre or fiddle; they are up to 45 cm (18 in) long and 30 cm (12 in) broad, though usually smaller, with a leathery texture, prominent veins and a wavy margin. The fruit is a green fig 2.5-3 cm (1-¼ in) diameter.

Cultivation and garden uses

It is a popular ornamental tree in subtropical and tropical gardens, and is also grown as a houseplant in temperate areas, where it usually stays shorter and fails to flower or fruit. Like most figs, it is frost tender.

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

External links

• Figweb: Ficus lyrata
• Description at Plants of Hawaii.
• Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan.