Ficus platypoda
| Ficus platypoda | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Moraceae |
| Genus: | Ficus |
| Species: | F. platypoda |
| Binomial name | |
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Ficus platypoda (Miq.) A. Cunn. ex Miq. |
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| Synonyms | |
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Urostigma platypodum Miq. |
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Urostigma platypodum Miq.
Ficus leucotricha (Miq.) Miq.
Ficus platypoda, commonly known as the desert fig or rock fig, is a fig that is endemic to central and northern Australia. It is a lithophytic plant that grows on rocky outcrops, reaching 10 m in height.
Dutch botanist Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel described the desert fig in 1847 as Urostigma platypodum, from material collected on both the east and west coast of Australia. The material collected by Allan Cunningham from York Sound in Western Australia became the type material. E.J.H. Corner synonymised F. platypoda with Ficus leucotricha, which was described by Miquel in 1861, however as the former name is older, it has become the accepted name instead.
The various populations and subspecies of Ficus platypoda were examined genetically in 2001 and found to contain a number of distinct species. Hence Ficus brachypoda, Ficus atricha and Ficus cerasicarpa were described as separate species.
With over 750 species, Ficus is one of the largest angiosperm genera. Based on morphology, English botanist E. J. H. Corner divided the genus into four subgenera, which was later expanded to six. In this classification, Ficus platypoda was placed in subseries Malvanthereae, series Malvanthereae, section Malvanthera of the subgenus Urostigma. In his reclassification of the Australian Malvanthera, Australian botanist Dale J. Dixon altered the delimitations of the series within the section, but left this species in the series Malvanthereae.
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Wikipedia