Ficus callophylla Blume, Bijdr. 445 (1825)

Latin for 'beautiful leaves'.

Synonyms
Ficus binnendijkii var. cupulata Corner
Ficus callophylla var. leytensis Corner
Ficus callophylla var. malayana Corner
Ficus callophylla var. minor Corner
Ficus clusioides (Miq.) Miq.
Ficus pachyphylla Merr. [Illegitimate]
Ficus tylophylla Hassk.
Urostigma callophyllum Miq.
Urostigma clusioides Miq.

Diagnostics
Strangler fig with white sap, clear stipules that are dropped early and alternate, leathery leaves, slightly tri-nerved, veins looping near the margin. Figs in pairs in leaf axils, red when ripe, rather small (ca. 1.5 cm diameter), with persistent green bracts at base.

Description
Monoecious strangler. Twigs grey-brown, flat and grooved, glabrous. Stipules lanceolate, acute, 2.5-3 cm long, glabrous. Leaves glabrous, drying not blackish; elliptic to oblong 12.5-24 x 5-9.5 cm, base cuneate, margin faintly revolute and lobed, apex acute; midrib raised above; lateral veins 8-10 pairs, joining near the leaf margin to form distinct intramarginal vein, with 2-3 shorter veins in between, distinct below, faint above, basal pair without glands in the axils below; intercostal venation faint; petiole 2-4.5 cm long. Syconia in pairs, borne on twigs behind the leaves, sessile, subglobose to globose, 1.2-1.5 x 1-1.5 cm, apex umbonate; surface rugose, with persistent large basal bracts. [from Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak]

Ecology
In forests because it needs a host tree.

Uses

Distribution
From southern China and Indochina into Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, java, Borneo, the Philippines and Sulawesi.

Local names