FICUS VALLIS-CHOUDAE - FALSE CAPE FIG SEEDS - EXOTIC IN SOUTH AFRICA

Ficus is a pan-tropical genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Ficus occupies a wide variety of ecological niches; most are evergreen, but some deciduous species are endemic to areas outside of the tropics and to higher elevations. Fig species are characterized by their unique inflorescence and distinctive pollination syndrome, which utilizes wasp species belonging to the Agaonidae family for pollination. The fruit of most species are edible though they are usually of only local economic importance or eaten as bushfood. However, they are extremely important food resources for wildlife. Figs are also of considerable cultural importance throughout the tropics, both as objects of worship and for their many practical uses.            Ficus vallis-choudae commonly known as False Cape Fig or Haroni Fig and synonymously known as Ficus schweinfurthii and Sycomorus schimperiana forms an evergreen tree to 20 m tall. The leaves are ovate to broadly ovate with the upper surface being rough to the touch. They are thin and leathery with conspicuous cream-green venation. The edible fruit figs are produced solitary in the leaf axils and are up to 4 cm in diameter. They are densely velvety, turning yellow to orange when ripe with faint reddish stripes.