Ficus rubiginosa Desf. ex Vent., Moraceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 7 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: littleleaf fig, Port Jackson fig, rusty fig

Habit:  tree

Description:  "The trees reach a large size; two in south Florida have trunks 75 cm in diameter and are up to 12 m high, with aerial roots clasping the lower parts of the trunk. Buttresses are sometimes present, but not conspicuous. The bark is dark gray, fairly smooth, but somewhat roughened by narrow, broken rings of a lighter gray than the bark itself; also, by longitudinal creases. The young twigs are scurfy-pubescent, short-jointed, and often angular or somewhat flattened. The terminal dormant buds are 2.5 to 5 cm long, densely rusty-pubescent, colored reddish brown. The stipules are up to 12.6 cm long, one longer than the other, lanceolate, scarious on margins, glabrous within, but pubescent on the outer side. The alternate, equilateral leaves are 7.5 to 17.2 cm long and up to 6.2 cm broad, oval, with the apex bluntly obtuse and the base broad and rounded. Venation is indistinct in some leaves but fairly prominent in others, the veins below very slightly elevated or almost flush with the surface, with 1 or 2 basal pairs plus 8 to 12 laterals. The texture is coriaceous, the margins entire, the surface prominently rubiginous above and below when young, the upper surface becoming more or less smooth and glabrous with age. The petioles are up to 4.3 cm long, sparsely pubescent at first, rusty at maturity, slightly flattened above but hardly at all grooved. The trees commonly bear the axillary, geminate fruits profusely, those on different trees varying considerably in size, shape, and surface characters. The peduncles are 0.2 to 0.8 cm long, angular, thick, and clublike, enlarged or swollen toward the apex, and densely pubescent. Sizes vary from 1.1 to 1.5 cm in diameter, shapes from globular to oblate-spherical or slightly oblong, and color from green or rusty to yellowish. The surface also varies, from rusty-pubescent or scurfy to almost smooth, with prominent, greenish or white flecks loosely scattered, these often somewhat raised or pebbly. The bracts are very early deciduous. The umbilicus is small, flush with the apex or very slightly protruding and nipple-like, with indistinct, reddish-brown scales. The interior is white" (Condit, 1969; pp. 167-170).

Habitat/ecology:  Moist forests and open areas. Recently naturalized in New Zealand, occupying rock walls, rocky outcrops and tree trunks.  "Tolerates damp to dry, full shade, all soil types, and hot to moderately warm temperatures"  (Weedbusters New Zealand).

Propagation:  Seed (needs a species-specific specialized pollinating wasp, Pleistodontes imperialis Saund.).  "Birds spread seed from gardens, parks, forests, and rocky areas"  (Weedbusters New Zealand).

Native range:  Australia

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1929) (voucher ID: BISH 161372) Taxon name on voucher: Ficus rubiginosa Desf. ex Vent.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 78)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank (2008) (p. 30) Voucher cited: Oppenheimer & K. R. Wood H80628 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L. (2003) (p. 15) West Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer, P. Bily, J. Lau & L. Durand H40103 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Nagata, Kenneth M. (1995) (p. 12) Voucher cited: Nagata 3946 (BISH, HLA) Pollinating wasps introduced and now naturalizing.
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 55)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. (1999) (p. 101) Not seen on this survey and may no longer be present.
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Wake Islands	Wake Island	introduced cultivated	Fosberg, F. R. (1959) (p. 12) ? Voucher cited: Fosberg 34467
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Wake Islands	Wake Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. (1969) (p. 8) Not seen in 1961 or 1963.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	New South Wales	native	Australian Biological Resources Study (2011)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	native	Australian Biological Resources Study (2011)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive cultivated	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 843) "Waste places".

Control: 

Physical:  "Pull out small plants (all year round). Leave on site to rot down.

Chemical:  1. Cut down and paint stump (all year round): metsulferon-methyl 600g/kg (2g/L). Leave on site to rot down.  Can use on trunks and on aerial roots. 2. Bore and fill (all year round): Make 1 hole every 100 mm around the trunk and aerial roots and put  metsulferon-methyl 600g/kg (2g) into each hole"  (Weedbusters New Zealand).

Additional information:
Photo and additional information at the Environment Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, web site of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (see thumbnail above).
Information from the Global Invasive Species Database.
Information sheet from Weedbusters New Zealand.

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

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

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

References:

Australian Biological Resources Study. 2011. Flora of Australia Online. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1929. Voucher specimen #BISH 161372 (Wilder, G.P. 831).

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

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Fosberg, F. R. 1959. Vegetation and flora of Wake Island. Atoll Research Bulletin 67. Pacific Science Board, National Academy of Sciences, Washington. 20 pp.

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. 1969. Wake Island vegetation and flora, 1961-1963. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 123. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 15 pp.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Nagata, Kenneth M. 1995. New Hawaiian plant records IV. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1994. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 42:10-13.

Oppenheimer, Hank. 2008. New Hawaiian plant records for 2007. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2007. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 100:22-38.

Oppenheimer, Hank L. 2003. New plant records from Maui and Hawai‘i Counties. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2001-2002. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 73:3-30.

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

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. 1999. Botanical survey of the United States of America Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) Islands. Prepared for Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and the U. S. Army Environmental Center. 111 pp.