City Trees is a premier publication focused on urban + community forestry. In each issue, you’ll learn how to best manage the trees in your community and more!
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1163463
Tree of Merit: Fig Trees (Ficus spp.) F ig trees (Ficus spp.) are some of the world's largest trees. There are more than 800 species of Ficus grow- ing throughout the world, 16 of which are native to Australia. The most famous f ig internationally is the Bodhi Tree (Ficus religiosa), site of the enlightenment of the Buddha in the f if th centur y BCE in Bodh Gaya, India. The tree growing there today, planted in 1881, is a direct descendant of the original Bodhi tree. Another famous tree in India is The Great Banyan Tree, a banyan f ig (Ficus benghalensis) whose canopy covers 18,918 square metres (about 1.89 hectares or 4.67 acres), mak- ing it one of the largest of its species in the world. Most species of f ig tree f ruits are not edible to humans even though the f loral morpholog y is similar to that of the edible f ig of the Middle East/Mediterranean. However, in Australia the f ruits are loved by many native animals, including birds and f lying foxes (a kind of megabat). The f ruit can be ver y messy, and due to the noise and an irrational fear of diseases f rom f lying foxes, f ig trees can cause a lot of management issues for municipal arborists. Due to the massive loss of habitat, f lying foxes have moved into Australian cit- ies and with their sheer numbers kill groups of trees f rom excessive nesting or roosting. This can some- times be used as a reason to move the f lying foxes, but rarely does this resolve the issue long-term. In Australia, f icus is not appropriate as a street tree because of the large area required for it to grow into a healthy specimen and because of its invasive root system (my saying is, "The f icus always wins.") The roots will invade any broken pipes—blocking them with f ibrous roots—and the roots will lif t footpaths, roads, and concrete house slabs. However, f icus can be a spectacular park specimen tree, especially if it is a species with aerial roots like the Ficus bengalensis. The Australian native, Moreton bay f ig (Ficus macro- phylla), and the non-native weeping f ig (Ficus benjamina) are t wo of the most common park trees of Brisbane, Australia—providing shade to hundreds of park visi- tors and picnickers ever y weekend. In the early 19th centur y, many f ig trees were cross-pollinated, creating a variet y of cultivars, some of which are still grow- ing throughout Brisbane and considered iconic. by Sitara Gare, Arboriculture Coordinator, Brisbane City Council, Australia www.urban-forestry.com 39 The Great Banyan Tree as seen from a distance. Photo by Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. Roosting grey-headed flying foxes (megabats) in Australia. Photo by Justin Welbergen, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The Great Banyan Tree in Kolkata, India, as seen from inside the canopy. Photo by McKay Savage, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.