Species in Ficus

Ficus benghalensis, the Indian banyan, is a large evergreen tree in the mulberry family (Moraceae), native to the Indian subcontinent. It often begins life as an epiphyte on another tree, then sends down aerial roots from its branches that thicken into woody, trunk-like pillars after reaching the ground, allowing a single tree to spread over a wide area. It grows up to about 30 m tall. The leaves are leathery, ovate to elliptic, with prominent veins. The figs are borne in pairs in the leaf axils, about 1 to 2.5 cm across, turning red or orange when ripe. As a container plant it stays much smaller and is grown for its broad leaves and pale trunk. The milky sap can irritate skin.

The rubber plant is an evergreen tree in the genus Ficus native from the eastern Himalaya through Myanmar to the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Java, reaching 20–30 m tall in the wild. It begins life as an epiphyte on other trees and later produces aerial roots from its branches, which thicken into additional trunks once they reach the ground. The leaves are elliptic, 8–30 cm long, thick, leathery and glossy, and each new leaf unfurls from a red stipule sheath. It was once cultivated as a source of natural rubber and is widely grown as a houseplant.

Ficus lyrata, the fiddle-leaf fig, is an evergreen tree in the mulberry family (Moraceae), native to the lowland rainforests of western and west-central tropical Africa. It can start life as a hemiepiphyte (a plant that germinates on another tree and later roots in the ground). In its native habitat it can reach about 30 m, while planted trees usually grow 3 to 12 m. The glossy, leathery leaves are lyre- or fiddle-shaped with wavy margins, up to about 45 cm long and 30 cm wide, with pale, conspicuous veins. Round green figs about 3 to 5 cm across, dotted with pale spots, are borne in pairs near the branch tips. It is widely grown as an indoor foliage plant. The milky sap may irritate sensitive skin and is toxic if swallowed.

Ficus umbellata is an evergreen fig in the mulberry family (Moraceae), native to tropical Africa from Senegal east to southwestern Ethiopia and south to Angola. It grows either as a terrestrial tree or as an epiphyte that can strangle its host, and reaches about 10 to 12 m tall. The large, thin leaves are broadly ovate to nearly round, 10 to 26 cm long and 6.5 to 20 cm wide, with a heart-shaped to squared-off base, a short pointed tip and a slightly wavy margin; the lateral veins often fork before reaching the edge. The petiole is 3 to 12.5 cm long. Round figs about 3 cm across are borne in clusters on short spurs just below the leaves and on older, leafless branches, turning yellowish green with paler dots when ripe. It is widely grown as an indoor foliage plant. The white sap released when stems are cut can irritate the skin.