Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden, South Africa

Common name: Australiese baniaan, Moreton Bay fig, Australian banyan

Family: Moraceae (Mulberry)

Distribution: Australia

IUCN Red list: Not evaluated

Comments: This forest species starts life off as a strangler fig – the seed germinates in the canopy of a host tree where it grows while sending roots down to the ground. Eventually the host tree is killed, and the Ficus becomes free-standing. When fully grown, it can grow up to 35 meters high with a similar spread. Renowned for their extensive network of raised roots called buttress roots. Aerial roots eventually intertwine with the buttress roots creating an intricate mesh which can cause problems with infrastructure if built in the vicinity of roads, pavements or buildings.
The plant genus Ficus is remarkable for its unique method of pollination. Each species of Ficus has an associated species of fig wasp. Ficus species can only be pollinated by their associated fig wasps and in turn, the wasps can only lay eggs within their associated Ficus fruit. In southern Africa, without its associated pollinator wasp, Pleistodontes froggatti, the figs drop off the tree early without setting seed.