Ficus aurea

Florida strangler fig
Florida strangler fig in Deering Park, Florida
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Moraceae
Genus: Ficus
Subgenus: F. subg. Urostigma
Species:
F. aurea
Binomial name
Ficus aurea
Nutt. 1846, conserved name
Synonyms[3]
Synonymy
  • Ficus cabusana Standl. & Steyerm.
  • Ficus ciliolosa Link 1822, rejected name[2]
  • Ficus cookii Standl.
  • Ficus dimidiata Griseb.
  • Ficus isophlebia Standl.
  • Ficus jimenezii Standl.
  • Ficus laterisyce W.C. Burger
  • Ficus lundellii Standl.
  • Ficus mayana Lundell
  • Ficus rigidula Lundell
  • Ficus sapotifolia Kunth & C.D.Bouché
  • Ficus tecolutensis (Liebm.) Miq.
  • Ficus tuerckheimii Standl.
  • Ficus venusta Kunth & C.D. Bouché
  • Ficus warczewiczii (Miq.) Miq.
  • Urostigma tecolutense Liebm.
  • Urostigma venustum (Kunth & C.D.Bouché) Miq.
  • Urostigma warczewiczii Miq.

Ficus aurea, commonly known as the Florida strangler fig (or simply strangler fig), golden fig, or higuerón,[4] is a tree in the family Moraceae that is native to the U.S. state of Florida, the northern and western Caribbean, southern Mexico and Central America south to Panama.[5] The specific epithet aurea was applied by English botanist Thomas Nuttall who described the species in 1846.

Ficus aurea is a strangler fig. In figs of this group, seed germination usually takes place in the canopy of a host tree with the seedling living as an epiphyte until its roots establish contact with the ground. After that, it enlarges and strangles its host, eventually becoming a free-standing tree in its own right. Individuals may reach 30 m (100 ft) in height. Like all figs, it has an obligate mutualism with fig wasps: figs are only pollinated by fig wasps, and fig wasps can only reproduce in fig flowers. The tree provides habitat, food and shelter for a host of tropical lifeforms including epiphytes in cloud forests and birds, mammals, reptiles and invertebrates. F. aurea is used in traditional medicine, for live fencing, as an ornamental and as a bonsai.

  1. ^ IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group & Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) (2020). "Ficus aurea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T181217702A181464731. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T181217702A181464731.en. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Brummitt2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "The Plant List".
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Harvey1998 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Berg, C.C. (2007). "Proposals for treating four species complexes in Ficus subgenus Urostigma section Americanae (Moraceae)". Blumea. 52 (2): 295–312. doi:10.3767/000651907X609034.