Ficus benjamina

Plant Characteristics
Habit		tree
Height:	⇕	80 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 80.
Width:	⇔	50 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 50.
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial
Origin:	✈	India

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun, shade
Water:	◍	moist, moderate
Features:	✓	evergreen, foliage, houseplant
USDA Zones:		10 to 12
Sunset Zones:		13, 17, 19-25, 27, indoor

Scientific Names
Moraceae >	Ficus >	benjamina >

Ficus benjamina, commonly known as the Weeping Fig or Benjamin's Fig and often sold in stores as just a "Ficus", is a species of fig tree, native to south and southeast Asia and Australia. It is the official tree of Bangkok, Thailand. It is a topiary tree reaching 30 m ft tall in natural conditions, with gracefully drooping branchlets and glossy leaves 6–13 cm (2–5 in) long, oval with an acuminate tip. In its native range, its small fruit are a favorite food of some birds, such as the Superb Fruit-dove, Wompoo Fruit-dove, Pink-spotted Fruit-dove, Ornate Fruit-dove, Orange-bellied Fruit-dove, Torresian Imperial-pigeon, Purple-tailed Imperial-pigeon (Frith et al. 1976).

In tropical latitudes, the Weeping Fig makes a very large and stately tree for parks and other urban situations, such as wide roads. It is often cultivated for this purpose.

It is a very popular house plant in temperate areas, due to its elegant growth and tolerance of poor growing conditions; it does best under bright, sunny conditions but will also tolerate considerable shade. It requires a moderate amount of watering in summer, and only enough to keep it from drying out in the winter. It does not need to be misted. The plant is sensitive to cold and should be protected from strong drafts. When grown indoors, it can grow too large for its situation, and may need drastic pruning or replacing.

The leaves are very sensitive to small changes in light. When it is re-located it reacts by dropping many of its leaves and replacing them with new leaves adapted to the new light intensity.

The miniature cultivars, especially 'Too Little', are among the most popular plant for indoor bonsai.

Weeping Fig has been shown by NASA to effectively filter indoor air toxins.^[1]

The United States Forest Service [1] in Fact Sheet ST-251 states "Roots grow rapidly invading gardens, growing under and lifting sidewalks, patios, and driveways." They conclude its use in tree form is much too large for residential planting, therefore in these settings, this species should only be used as a hedge or clipped screen.

Read about Ficus benjamina in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
Ficus benjamina, Linn. A tree with small lvs., and smooth throughout: lvs. thin, not much coriaceous, shining, ovate-elliptic, entire, the apex sharply acuminate, 2-4½ in- long; lateral primary nerves very numerous, freely intermingling near the margins of the lvs.: frs. in pairs, axillary and sessile, smooth and blood-red when ripe. Malayan Penins. K. 52. 83h. Ficus benjamina Var. comosa, Kurz. Sepals lanceolate-acuminate rather than spatulate: fr. ¾ in. diam., narrowed at base rather than globose or ovoid. ^CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

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Cultivars

Gallery

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tree in Hyderabad, India.
fig in Hyderabad, India.
leaves in Hyderabad, India.
trunk in Hyderabad, India.
Leaves

References

Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

w:Ficus benjamina. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
Ficus benjamina QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)

↑ B. C. Wolverton, Rebecca C. McDonald, and E. A. Watkins, Jr. "Foliage Plants for Removing Indoor Air Pollutants from Energy-efficient Homes" (PDF). Retrieved on 2007-05-03.

[nasastudy-1] B. C. Wolverton, Rebecca C. McDonald, and E. A. Watkins, Jr. "Foliage Plants for Removing Indoor Air Pollutants from Energy-efficient Homes" (PDF). Retrieved on 2007-05-03.

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