Ficus benguetensis Merr. (1905)

Berg, C. C., 2011, Corrective notes on the Malesian members of the genus Ficus (Moraceae), Blumea 56 (2), pp. 161-164 : 162

Ficus benguetensis Merr. (1905) 10.

With the synonymy as given in Flora Malesiana ( Berg & Corner 2005: 400), with exclusion of F. laevicarpa , and the description revised.

Shrub or tree up to 12 m tall. Leafy twigs 3 – 4 mm thick, whitish hirtellous to strigillose to subhirtellous, nodal waxy glands present, internodes hollow, periderm mostly flaking off; older twigs usually with prominent scars of leaves and figs; often small conical abortive axillary buds. Leaves spirally arranged, (sub)opposite or (sub)distichous; lamina oblong to subobovate or to elliptic, (6–)8 –19 by 3.5 –8 cm, ± asymmetric to almost symmetric, (sub)coriaceous, apex acuminate to subacuminate, base cuneate to rounded to subcordate, margin subentire or crenate-dentate, upper surface sparsely hairy on the midrib or the main veins to glabrous, smooth, lower surface ± sparsely whitish strigillose, mainly on the lateral veins, smooth, cystoliths only beneath, lateral veins (4–)6–10 pairs, most or some of them branched or furcate away from the margin, basal pair up to 1/6 –1/3 the length of the lamina, (faintly) branched, tertiary venation scalariform, waxy glands sometimes present in the axils of the lateral veins in the middle of the lamina beneath; petiole 1.5 – 3(– 5) cm long, brown to whitish strigillose to hirtellous, the epidermis ± flaking off; stipules 0.5 –1.5 cm long, glabrous or whitish to brownish appressed-puberulous to strigillose, caducous. Figs on the trunk, down to near its base, on up to 15 (or to c. 30) cm long, branched or unbranched leafless branchlets with 3 – 4 mm long with terminally 3 – 4 mm long subpersistent stipules; peduncle 0.2–1.5 cm long; basal bracts 3, verticillate, 2 –3 mm long, often patent to ± deflexed; receptacle depressed-globose to obovoid or to ovoid, 1–1.5 cm diam when dry, non-stipitate or c. 0.2 cm long stipitate, ± sparsely puberulous to glabrous, often with some small rather conspicuous lenticels, epidermis persistent (or flaking off around the ostiole?), without lateral bracts, faintly to distinctly ribbed, reddish brown at maturity, apex ± convex, ostiole 2 –3 mm diam, surrounded by 5 (often ± swollen) apical bracts, these and the ostiolar bracts usually minutely puberulous outside or at least ciliolate; internal hairs absent. Style of long-styled pistillate flower minutely hairy at the apex to glabrous.

Distribution — Ryu Kyu Islands, Taiwan, Malesia: Philippines (Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros, Panay, Samar). No indications that the species occurs in Palawan.

Habitat — Forest, at altitudes up to c. 1500 m.