Ficus grossularioides Burm.f., Fl. Ind. (1768)

Latin for 'gooseberry like', referring to the figs.

Synonyms
Ficus alba Reinw. ex Blume
Ficus alba var. gossypina Kuntze
Ficus alba var. mappan (Miq.) Miq.
Ficus alba var. nudinervis Kuntze
Ficus bicolor Hook. ex Miq.
Ficus chloroleuca Miq.
Ficus gossypina Wall. ex Miq.
Ficus gossypina forma integrifolia Miq.
Ficus gossypina forma lobata Miq.
Ficus hunteri Miq.
Ficus lobata Hunter ex Ridl.
Ficus mappan Miq.
Ficus nivea Blume
Ficus palamoides Voigt
Ficus palmata Roxb.

Diagnostics
Shrub up to 13 m tall and 15 cm dbh. Stem with white sap. Stipules ca. 12 mm long, glabrous to hairy. Leaves alternate, simple to tri-lobed, whitish below, glabrous to hairy below. Fruits ca. 11 mm diameter, yellow-orange-red, fleshy figs placed along the twigs.

Description
Dioecious tree, up to 13 m tall, 15 cm diameter. Twigs 0.2-0.5 cm thick, reddish brown, glabrous. Stipules pale hairy, lanceolate, acute, c. 0.5 cm long. Leaves spirally arranged, thin-coriaceous, glaucous and velvety hairy below, very rough-hairy above; elliptic to obovate, 5.5-19 x 3.5-11.5 cm, base cuneate, margin entire, lobed or distinctly toothed, apex acute; midrib sunken above; lateral veins 4-6 pairs, sunken above, raised below, basal pair reaching about 1/2 the length of the blade, with a gland in each axil below; intercostal venation scalariform to reticulate, visible below, invisible above; petiole 1.5- 11.5 cm long, pinkish on drying. Syconia axillary, sessile, in pairs, ripening yellowish brown, ellipsoid to subglobose, 0.8-1 cm diameter, apex umbonate; basal bracts ovate, 1-2.5 mm long; internal bristles few, short, white. Tepals 3 or 5, glabrous. Achenes c. 1 mm long, tuberculate. [from Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak]

Ecology
In disturbed (open) mixed dipterocarp, keranga, swamp and coastal forests up to 400 m altitude. Usually in regrowth, along roads, padi's and plantations. Also common along rivers and streams. Usually on sandy soils.

Uses
Latex is used against scorpion bites. Young shoots are eaten raw. Leaves (decoction) are used against kidney complaints.

Distribution
Thailand to New Guinea.

Local names
Borneo: Kukan (Bidayuh), Kupan, Kumpan (Iban), Lenakan (Iban), Lelingkan (Iban), Lengkan (Iban).
English: White leaved fig.