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{{Short description|Species of fig}}
{{Redirect|Curtain fig|the Queensland, Australia strangler fig attraction|Curtain Fig Tree}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Ficus microcarpa - La Gomera 01.jpg
|status = LC
|status_system = IUCN3.1
|status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Shao, Q. |author2=Zhao, L. |author3=Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). |author4=IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group |date=2019 |title=''Ficus microcarpa'' |volume=2019 |article-number=e.T73088912A147623376 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T73088912A147623376.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
|genus = Ficus
|parent = Ficus subg. Urostigma
|species = microcarpa
|authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus the Younger|L.f.]]
|subdivision_ranks = Varieties
|subdivision = {{Species list
|Ficus microcarpa var. hillii|([[Frederick Manson Bailey|F.M.Bailey]]) [[E. J. H. Corner|Corner]]
|Ficus microcarpa var. microcarpa|
|Ficus microcarpa var. saffordii|([[Elmer Drew Merrill|Merr.]]) Corner}}
|subdivision_ref = <ref name=POWO>{{cite POWO |id=853217-1 |title=''Ficus microcarpa'' L.f. |access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref>
|synonyms = *''Urostigma microcarpum'' (L.f.) [[Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel|Miq.]]
{{Species list
|hidden=yes
|header=var. ''hillii''<ref>{{cite POWO |id=121115-3 |title=''Ficus microcarpa'' var. ''hillii'' (F.M.Bailey) Corner |access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref>
|Ficus prolixa|[[Eugène Vieillard|Vieill.]] & [[Émile Deplanche|Deplanche]]
|Ficus hillii|F.M.Bailey
|Ficus schlechteri|[[Otto Warburg (botanist)|Warb.]]}}
{{Species list
|hidden=yes
|header=var. ''microcarpa''<ref>{{cite POWO |id=121196-3 |title=''Ficus microcarpa'' var. ''microcarpa'' |access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref>
|Ficus rubra|Roth
|Ficus rubra var. acuminata|[[Benjamin Heyne|B.Heyne]] ex Roth
|Ficus littoralis|[[Carl Ludwig Blume|Blume]]
|Ficus condaravia|[[Francis Buchanan-Hamilton|Buch.-Ham.]]
|Urostigma amblyphyllum|Miq.
|Urostigma pisiferum|Miq.
|Urostigma littorale|(Blume) Miq.
|Urostigma accedens var. latifolia|Miq.
|Ficus dilatata|Miq.
|Ficus amblyphylla|(Miq.) Miq.
|Ficus dyctiophleba|[[Ferdinand von Mueller|F.Muell.]] ex Miq.
|Ficus retusa f. parvifolia|Miq.
|Ficus retusa var. pisifera|(Miq.) Miq.
|Ficus retusa f. pubescens|Miq.
|Ficus dictyophleba|F.Muell. ex Miq.
|Ficus naumannii|[[Adolf Engler|Engl.]]
|Ficus retusa var. nitida|[[George King (botanist)|King]]
|Ficus thynneana|F.M.Bailey
|Ficus dahlii|[[Karl Moritz Schumann|K.Schum.]]
|Ficus cairnsii|Warb.
|Ficus retusiformis|[[Augustin Abel Hector Léveillé|H.Lév.]]
|Ficus thynneana var. minor|[[Karel Domin|Domin]]
|Ficus thynneana var. typica|Domin
|Ficus regnans|[[Ludwig Diels|Diels]]
|Ficus microcarpa f. pubescens|Corner
|Ficus microcarpa var. latifolia|(Miq.) Corner
|Ficus microcarpa var. naumannii|(Engl.) Corner
|Ficus retusa var. crassifolia|[[Wang Chueng Shieh|W.C.Shieh]]
|Ficus microcarpa var. crassifolia|(W.C.Shieh) [[Jih Ching Liao|J.C.Liao]]
|Ficus microcarpa var. nitida|[[Feng Chi Ho|F.C.Ho]]
|Ficus microcarpa var. fuyuensis|J.C.Liao
|Ficus microcarpa var. oluangpiensis|J.C.Liao
|Ficus microcarpa var. pusillifolia|J.C.Liao}}
{{Species list
|hidden=yes
|header=var. ''saffordii''<ref>{{cite POWO |id=77250940-1 |title=''Ficus microcarpa'' var. ''saffordii'' (Merr.) Corner |access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref>
|Ficus saffordii|Merr.}}
|synonyms_ref = <ref name=POWO/>
}}

'''''Ficus microcarpa''''', also known as '''Chinese banyan''', '''Hill's weeping fig''', '''small-fruited fig''', '''Malayan banyan''', '''Indian laurel''', or '''curtain fig''',<ref name=GRIN>{{GRIN | access-date = 1 April 2018}}</ref> is a species of [[banyan]] tree in the family [[Moraceae]]. Its native range is from India to China and Japan, through Southeast Asia and the western Pacific to the state of [[Queensland]] in Australia, and it has been introduced to parts of the Americas and the Mediterranean. It was first described in 1782, and is a culturally significant plant in a number of Asian countries.

==Description==
''Ficus microcarpa'' is a large tropical tree that grows to {{cvt|25|m}} tall, occasionally to {{cvt|35|m}}, with innumerable aerial roots descending from the branches that have the capacity to develop into accessory trunks or "prop roots". It may initially be [[Epiphyte|epiphytic]], [[Lithophyte|lithophytic]] or terrestrial. The leaves are narrowly to broadly [[Glossary of leaf morphology#elliptic|elliptic]], measuring up to {{cvt|12|cm}} long by {{cvt|9|cm}} wide. They are {{botanygloss|glabrous}} (without hairs) and have 5–9 pairs of main lateral veins either side of the midrib, which form distinct loops within the leaf margin.
{{R|FOA|FOC|RFK}}

==Taxonomy==
[[File:Starr 080601-5190 Ficus microcarpa.jpg|thumb|Foliage and fruit]]
''Ficus microcarpa'' was described in 1782 by [[Carl Linnaeus the Younger]]. The species has a considerable number of synonyms. In 1965, [[E. J. H. Corner]] described seven varieties (and two forms of ''Ficus microcarpa'' var. ''microcarpa''){{R|Corner-1965}} which were regarded as synonyms under the name of ''Ficus microcarpa'' in the latest{{which|date=April 2016}} [[Flora Malesiana]] volume.

'''Hill's weeping fig''' was first formally described as a species, '''''Ficus hillii''''', by [[Frederick Manson Bailey]] in the ''Botany Bulletin'' of the Queensland Department of Agriculture, based on a specimen collected in the "scrubs of tropical [[Queensland]]".{{R|APNI-F.hillii}} In 1960, it was reassigned by E. J. H. Corner as a variety of ''F. microcarpa'', namely '''''F. microcarpa'' var. ''hillii'''''.{{R|Corner-1960}}

==Distribution and habitat==
''Ficus microcarpa'' is native to tropical Asia, [[southern China]], [[Taiwan]], islands of the Western Pacific and [[Australia]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> A tropical and subtropical species, the tree requires a warm climate and a humid atmosphere. It can nevertheless withstand temperatures close to 0 °C. The species occurs mainly at low elevations, and its natural habitats include tropical rainforests, river edges, coasts, swamps and mangroves.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

===Introduced range===
''Ficus microcarpa'' was widely distributed as an ornamental plant and is one of the most common street trees in warm climates.{{cn|date=March 2023}} It has been introduced to a number of countries in the Mediterranean, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Hawaii, California and Florida in the US.{{R|POWO}}

In urbanized areas, trees can grow in cracks, walls, buildings and other masonry elements. It seems that the species can tolerate urban pollutants in soil moisture, including [[sulfur dioxide]], [[lead]] and [[cadmium]], as well as [[salt]].

The symbiotic pollinating [[fig wasp]], ''Eupristina verticillata'', was introduced along with ''F. microcarpa''. Such an introduction, however, can be delayed: in [[Brazil]] - where specimens of the tree had been used in [[gardening]] since the nineteenth century, when it was introduced by the architect [[Auguste François Marie Glaziou]] into various public parks of [[Rio de Janeiro]] - the appearance of saplings began only during the 1970s. Such saplings are considered to be very aggressive, as they can grow in the walls of buildings, bridges, highways, and other concrete structures.<ref>Carauta, Jorge Pedro Pereira & Diaz, B. Ernani, ''Figueiras no Brasil'', Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, 2002, {{ISBN|85-7108-250-2}}, pg.155</ref>

The tree is considered a major [[invasive species]] in [[Hawaii]], [[Florida]], [[Bermuda]], [[Central America]], and [[South America]]. ''F. microcarpa'' is widely used as a street and ornamental tree in areas of coastal [[California]] that are free of regular frost. Its strong roots can lift sidewalks and pavements, and many California cities no longer recommend planting them. In [[Southern California]], a population of the symbiotic fig wasp is now established, which allows the ornamental trees to produce fertile fruit. Seeds are spread by fruit-eating birds, and ''F. microcarpa'' can now spread without direct human help. Naturalized populations have been found in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and Ventura counties, including on buildings, bridges, and other structures, and as an [[epiphyte]] on other trees, especially palm trees.{{R|RIEFNER}} It is commonly used as an ornamental tree in most of [[Spain]]'s [[Mediterranean]] coast, as in the [[Balearic Islands|Balearic]] and the [[Canary Islands|Canary]] islands. Ficus microcarpa can also be found on the southern coast of [[Sicily]], in [[Rhodes]] and [[Cyprus]]. It is considered an invasive plant in Israel, although it is not widespread.{{R|RIEFNER}}

==Ecology==
The pollinating [[fig wasp]] associated with ''Ficus microcarpa'' is ''Eupristina verticillata''. In addition, 19 non-pollinating fig wasp species parasitize ''Ficus microcarpa'' figs.<ref name=Chen99>{{cite journal
| last = Chen
| first = Ying-Ru |author2=Wen-Chung Chuang |author3=Wen-Jer Wu
| year = 1999
| title = Chalcids wasps on ''Ficus microcarpa'' L. in Taiwan (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea)
| journal = Journal of Taiwan Museum
| volume = 52
| pages = 39–79
}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|reason=This paper cites the taxon author as Linnaeus (instead of Linnaeus' son) and has numerous spelling mistakes, including repeated misspellings of 'microcarpa' as 'mieroearpa' or 'microcarapa', suggesting the paper has not been properly reviewed|date=December 2024}}
These [[fig wasp]]s are from different families, which include those of the [[Eurytomidae]] and [[Pteromalidae]] families.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

In some parts of its introduced range, it is very attractive to avian wildlife: in [[São Paulo]], Brazil, ten species of birds were listed as feeding on its fruits, especially ''[[Turdus rufiventris]]'', ''[[Pitangus sulphuratus]]'', ''[[Turdus leucomelas]]'', ''[[Thraupis sayaca]]'' and ''[[Celeus flavescens]]''.<ref>{{cite journal
|author1 = Somenzari, Marina
|author2 = Linda Lacerda da Silva
|author3 = Rosanna G. Q. Benesi
|name-list-style = amp
|year = 2006
|title = Atração de aves por ''Ficus elastica'' Roxb. e ''Ficus microcarpa'' L. em ambiente urbano (abstract)
|journal = XIV Congresso Brasileiro de Ornitologia
|url = http://www.ararajuba.org.br/sbo/cbo/xiv_cbo/Historia_natural.pdf
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090206171218/http://ararajuba.org.br/sbo/cbo/xiv_cbo/Historia_natural.pdf
|archive-date = 2009-02-06
}}</ref> Its fruit and leaves are also sought after and eaten by the parrot ''[[Aratinga leucophthalmus]]''.<ref>{{cite journal
|author1=da Silva, Linda Lacerda
|author2=Sonia Maria de Amorim Gimenez
|author3=Sumiko Namba
|name-list-style=amp
|year=2006
|title=Método quantitativo para a avaliacão da preferência alimentar de ''Aratinga leucophthalmus'' em cativeiro (abstract)
|journal=XIV Congresso Brasileiro de Ornitologia
|url=http://www.ararajuba.org.br/sbo/cbo/xiv_cbo/Comportamento.pdf
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706161151/http://www.ararajuba.org.br/sbo/cbo/xiv_cbo/Comportamento.pdf
|archive-date=2011-07-06
}}</ref> Although invasive, its hardiness makes it an important species for the attraction of avian wildlife in urban environments.<ref>Frisch, Johan Dalgas & Frisch, Christian Dalgas, ''Aves Brasileiras e Plantas que as Atraem'', São Paulo:2005, {{ISBN|85-85015-07-1}}, pg.366</ref>

==Cultivation==
[[Image:Ficus microcarpa1.jpg|thumb|200px|right|''Ficus microcarpa'' as an indoor landscape plant.]]
''Ficus microcarpa'' is cultivated as an [[ornamental tree]] for planting in gardens, parks, and in containers as an [[Houseplant|indoor plant]] and [[bonsai]] specimen. In Southeast Asia, it is cultivated as a [[shade tree]] because of its dense foliage.{{cn|date=March 2023}} Its ability to produce [[Wiktionary:discard|discard]]s{{vague|what's that?|date=July 2025}} also makes it easy to drive{{vague|like a car?|date=July 2025}} in hedge or bush.{{clarify|date=December 2024}}

As a tropical and subtropical tree, it is suitable for temperatures above 20 °C all year long, which explains why it is generally sold as a houseplant. It can, however, withstand relatively low temperatures, suffering damage only below 0 °C. High humidity (70% - 100%) is preferable and seems to favor the development of aerial roots. The species can be propagated easily by [[cuttings (plant)|cuttings]], either in water or directly in a substrate of sand or potting soil.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

===Medicine===
The plant is also used in [[traditional medicine]] in India, Malaysia, China and Japan. In Japan, the bark, the aerial roots and dried leaves are traditionally used against pain and [[fever]], while in China the plant is traditionally used among others against the [[flu]], the [[malaria]], [[bronchitis]] and [[rheumatism]]. The pharmacological properties of ''Ficus microcarpa'' include [[antioxidant]] activities, [[antibacterial]], [[anticarcinogen]] and anti diabetic agents.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kalaskar |first1=MohanG |last2=Surana |first2=SanjayJ |title=Pharmacognostic and phytochemical studies on Ficus Microcarpa L. fil |journal=Ancient Science of Life |date=2012 |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=107–111 |doi=10.4103/0257-7941.118550 |doi-access=free |pmid=24167337 |pmc=3807953 }}</ref>

==Folklore==
In Southeast Asia, ''F. microcarpa'', among other species, is thought to be home to spirits, such as [[Pontianak (folklore)]]. In China, large fig trees can be associated with beneficial spirits and vital energy ("[[Qi]]"). In Singapore, some trees are associated with places of worship among Buddhists and Taoists.

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="240" heights="180" perrow="5">
File:Starr 040514-0204 Ficus microcarpa.jpg|''Ficus microcarpa'' with aerial roots.
File:Starr 050516-1267 Ficus microcarpa.jpg|Foliage
File:Ficus microcarpa (8150114011).jpg|Branch and leaves
File:Ficus microcarpa var. nitida 2zz.jpg|A tree
File:Ficus microcarpa kz3.jpg|Bonsai
File:Ficus microcarpa var. nitida 0zz.jpg|Trunk
File:Starr 080601-5176 Ficus microcarpa.jpg|Shrubby tree
File:Starr 070111-3088 Ficus microcarpa.jpg|A tree at a park in Hawaii
File:Starr 080531-4730 Ficus microcarpa.jpg|A tree in [[Midway Atoll]]
File:Starr 050722-2918 Ficus microcarpa.jpg|Tree with closeup of branches and trunk
File:Ficus microcarpa P1130327 08.jpg|Fruits
File:Ficus microcarpa Blanco2.382.jpg|Botanical illustration
File:Morning in the Hyde Park, Sydney 01.jpg|An avenue of ''Ficus microcarpa'' in [[Hyde Park, Sydney]]
File:פיקוס השדרות על דקל תמר מצוי.jpg|Ficus microcarpa living on [[Phoenix dactylifera]] (date palm). It is there due to [[guano]] of flying [[Egyptian fruit bat]]
File:Ficus microcarpa - Habitus.jpg|alt=Ficus microcarpa – Stem & Habitus.|Stem & Habitus
File:Ficus microcarpa - Stem & leaves 2.jpg|alt=Ficus microcarpa – Stem with leaves|Stem with leaves
File:פיקוס השדרות גדל על גג.jpg|Growing on roof top
File:Wilshire Boulevard at Hope Street, downtown Los Angeles, California.jpg|''Ficus microcarpa'' is a common tree seen alongside streets of [[Greater Los Angeles|Los Angeles area]] and generally its the most common evergreen fig in [[southern California]]
</gallery>

==References==
{{Portal|Trees}}
{{Reflist|27em|refs=
<ref name="FOA">{{cite web |url=https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Ficus%20microcarpa |title=''Ficus microcarpa'' |last1=Chew |first1=W.-L. |last2=Du Puy |first2=D.J. |year=2022 |editor-last1=Kodela |editor-first1=P.G. |website=[[Flora of Australia]] |publisher=[[Australian Biological Resources Study]], Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra |access-date=27 December 2024}}</ref>

<ref name="RFK">{{cite web |url=https://apps.lucidcentral.org/rainforest/text/entities/Ficus_microcarpa.htm |title=''Ficus microcarpa'' |author1=F.A.Zich |author2=B.P.M.Hyland |author3=T.Whiffen |author4=R.A.Kerrigan |author2-link=Bernard Hyland |year=2020 |website=[[Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants]] Edition 8 (RFK8) |publisher=Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), [[Australian Government]] |access-date=27 December 2024}}</ref>

<ref name="FOC">{{cite web |title=''Ficus microcarpa'' L.f. |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200006364 |website=Flora of China (eFloras) |publisher=Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. |access-date=27 December 2012}}</ref>

<ref name="Corner-1960">{{cite journal |last1=Corner |first1=E.J.H. |title=Taxonomic Notes on ''Ficus'' Linn., Asia and Australasia. Sections 1-4 |journal=The Gardens' Bulletin Singapore |date=1960 |volume=17 |issue=3 |page=397 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/43588179 |access-date=28 December 2024}}</ref>

<ref name="Corner-1965">{{Cite journal |last1=Corner |first1=E.J.H. |title=Check-list of ''Ficus'' in Asia and Australasia with keys to identification |journal=The Gardens' Bulletin Singapore |date=1965 |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=22–23 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/43581730 |access-date=28 December 2024}}</ref>

<ref name="APNI-F.hillii">{{cite web |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/rest/name/apni/91233 |title=''Ficus hillii'' |website=[[Australian Plant Name Index]] (APNI) |publisher=Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, [[Australian Government]] |access-date=28 December 2024}}</ref>

<ref name="RIEFNER">{{cite journal |last1=Riefner |first1=R.E. |title=''Ficus microcarpa'' (Moraceae) naturalized in Southern California, U. S. A.: Linking plant, pollinator, and suitable microhabitats to document the invasion process |journal=Phytologia |date=2016 |volume=98 |issue=1 |pages=42–75 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322554823}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Ficus microcarpa}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070512131157/http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/reports/html/ficus_microcarpa.htm Plants of Hawaii: ''Ficus microcarpa''], hear.org
* [https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=FIMI2 ''Ficus microcarpa'' L.f.], [[Natural Resources Conservation Service]] of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
* [http://www.conservation.bm/indian-laurel/ Indian Laurel Invasive Plant Page, Bermuda Department of Conservation Services.]
* [http://ci.nii.ac.jp/els/110003374475.pdf?id=ART0003849347&type=pdf&lang=en&host=cinii&order_no=&ppv_type=0&lang_sw=&no=1480404937&cp=], Yokoyama, Jun, and Kunio Iwatsuki. "A faunal survey of fig-wasps (Chalcidoidea: Hymenoptera) distributed in Japan and their associations with figs (Ficus: Moraceae)." Entomological science 1.1 (1998): 37–46.

{{Taxonbar|from=Q714180}}

[[Category:Ficus|microcarpa]]
[[Category:Flora of the Australasian realm]]
[[Category:Flora of the Indomalayan realm]]
[[Category:Trees of China]]
[[Category:Trees of Japan]]
[[Category:Trees of Taiwan]]
[[Category:Flora of tropical Asia]]
[[Category:Flora of the Northwestern Pacific]]
[[Category:Trees of Australia]]
[[Category:Flora of Queensland]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1782]]
[[Category:Garden plants of Asia]]
[[Category:Plants used in bonsai]]
[[Category:Ornamental trees]]

Ficus microcarpa - Revision history

Wikindia777 at 01:13, 17 December 2025