Ficus altissima Blume, Moraceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: gao shan rong

English: council tree, false banyan, lofty fig

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Trees in southern Florida have broad tops, with some aerial roots and few multiple trunks. The twigs are up to 0.7 cm thick, pubescent, with elongated lenticels. The bark is green or light silvery-gray. The terminal buds are plump, prominent, 3.6 cm long, up to 0.8 cm thick at the base, puberulent on the surface and on the margins of stipules, and tawny or reddish brown. The entire, glabrous leaves are alternate, equilateral, oval, up to 25 cm long and 15 cm broad, with a rounded or bluntly acuminate apex and a broad, rounded base. Venation is prominent, the midrib flanked at the base by 2 pairs of veins, 1 pair much larger than the other, forming a conspicuous angle or "V". There are 5 to 9 pairs of laterals. The texture is coriaceous to subcoriaceous. The surface is green and glossy above, but lighter-colored below. The petioles are up to 11.5 cm long and 0.7 cm broad, somewhat flattened, hardly (or indistinctly) channeled above, green or pink, and puberulent. The figs are axillary, sessile, and mostly geminate. They are spherical, up to 1.5 cm in diameter, pubescent at first, becoming smooth and glabrous, commonly scarlet, and almost devoid of exterior markings. The basal bracts are prominent, and yellowish to pink. The umbilicus is fairly prominent, scarcely 0.4 cm across, with the scales almost concealed or sunken in a pore-like depression. The interior is white" (Condit, 1969; pp. 206-207).

Habitat/ecology:  Large tree, shading out plants beneath. Can establish itself as an epiphyte on other trees, strangling them when it gets larger. Also can establish itself on wall, buildings, bridges, etc.

Propagation:  Seed. Pollination is by a species-specific wasp.

Native range:  Asiatic tropics, from the Himalayas in India to Burma and Malaya.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 44) In primary forests at low and medium altitudes.
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Shine, C./Reaser, J. K./Gutierrez, A. T., eds. (2003) (p. 166) Potential invader.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	Hong Kong	native	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 61)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Comments:  Planting of this species is prohibited in Miami-Dade County, Florida (U.S.) (Hunsberger, 2001).

Additional information:
Information from "Invasive plants of Asian origin established in the United States and their natural enemies, volume 1" (PDF format).

Additional online information about Ficus altissima is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Ficus altissima as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Ficus altissima may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Condit, I. J. 1969. Ficus: the exotic species. University of California.

Hunsberger, A. G. B. 2001. Invasive and banned plants of Miami-Dade County. U. of Fl. Extension. 3 pp.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 2 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 530 pp.

Shine, C./Reaser, J. K./Gutierrez, A. T., eds. 2003. Invasive alien species in the Austral-Pacific Region: National Reports & Directory of Resources. Global Invasive Species Programme, Cape Town, South Africa. 185 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.

Zheng, Hao/Wu, Yun/Ding, Jianqing/Binion, Denise/Fu, Weidong/Reardon, Richard. 2004. Invasive plants of Asian origin established in the United States and their natural enemies, volume 1. FHTET-2004-05. U.S. Forest Service, Morgantown.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).