Ficus aurea

Ficus aurea

Taxobox
name = Florida strangler fig



image_width = 250px
image_caption = Florida strangler fig in Deering Park, Florida
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Urticales
familia = Moraceae
genus = "Ficus"
species = "F. aurea"
binomial = "Ficus aurea"
binomial_authority = Nutt.
synonyms = "Ficus ciliolosa" Link "Ficus aurea" Nutt. var. "latifolia" Nutt. "Ficus venusta" Kunth & C.D.Bouché "Urostigma tecolutense" Liebm. "Ficus dimidiata" Griseb. "Urostigma warczewiczii" Miq. "Ficus tuerckheimii" Standl. "Ficus isophlebia" Standl. "Ficus jimenezii" Standl. "Ficus cookii" Standl. "Ficus lundellii" Standl. "Ficus cabusana" Standl. & Steyerm. "Ficus laterisyce" W.C.Burger "Ficus mayana" Lundell "Ficus rigidula" Lundell

"Ficus aurea", commonly known as the Florida strangler fig (or simply strangler fig), golden fig, or "higuerón", is a tree in the family Moraceae that is native to Florida, the northern and western Caribbean, southern Mexico and Central America south to Panama.cite journal | quotes = no | last = Berg | first = C.C. | year = 2007 | month = | title = Proposals for treating four species complexes in "Ficus" subgenus "Urostigma" section "Americanae" (Moraceae) | journal = Blumea | volume = 52 | issue = 2 | pages = 295–312 | url = http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/nhn/blumea/2007/00000052/00000002/art00006?token=00461ab829403edad7383a4b3b257b6e7b7524736a383b4979542a72752d7b26f17bf6 ] The specific epithet "aurea" was coined by English botanist Thomas Nuttall who described the species in 1846; older names applied to this species have been ruled invalid.

"Ficus aurea" is a strangler fig; seed germination usually takes place in the canopy of a host tree and the seedling lives as an epiphyte until its roots establish contact with the ground. It then enlarges and strangles its host, eventually becoming a freestanding tree in its own right. Individuals may reach 30 m (100 ft) in height. Like all figs, it has an obligate mutualism with fig wasps; figs are only pollinated by fig wasps, and fig wasps can only reproduce in fig flowers. The tree provides habitat, food and shelter for a host of tropical lifeforms including epiphytes in cloud forests and birds, mammals, reptiles and invertebrates. "F. aurea" is used in traditional medicine, for live fences, as an ornamental and as a bonsai.

Description

"Ficus aurea" is a tree which may reach heights of 30 m (100 ft). [http://mobot.mobot.org/cgi-bin/search_vast?FLNIONDAD=21300459 Flora de Nicaragua] database. Tropicos. es Retrieved on 2008-07-02] It is monoecious; each tree bears functional male and female flowers. Figs are generally evergreen, but "F. aurea" is briefly leafless in winter at the northern end of its range in Florida. The size and shape of the leaves is variable. Some plants have leaves that are usually less than 10 cm (4 in) long while others have leaves that are larger. The shape of the leaves and of the leaf base also varies—some plants have leaves that are oblong or elliptic with a wedge-shaped to rounded base, while others have heart-shaped or ovate leaves with cordate to rounded bases. "F. aurea" has paired figs which are green when unripe, turning yellow as they ripen.cite web |last=Gilman |first=Edward F. |coauthors =Watson, Dennis G. |month=December | year=2006 |title="Ficus aurea": Strangler Fig |publisher=Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (ENH409) |url=http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ST250 |accessdate=2008-06-10] They differ in size (0.6–0.8 cm [0.2–0.3 in] , about 1 cm [0.4 in] , or 1.0–1.2 cm [0.4–0.5 in] in diameter); figs are generally sessile, but in parts of northern Mesoamerica figs are borne on short stalks known as peduncles.

Taxonomy

With about 750 species, "Ficus" (Moraceae) is one of the largest angiosperm genera. (David Frodin of Chelsea Physic Garden ranked it as the 31st largest genus.)cite journal | quotes = no | last = Frodin | first = David G. | year = 2004 | month = | title = History and concepts of big plant genera | journal = Taxon | volume = 53 | issue = 3 | pages = 753–76 | url = http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iapt/tax/2004/00000053/00000003/art00012| doi = 10.2307/4135449 ] "Ficus aurea" is classified in the subgenus "Urostigma" (the strangler figs) and the section "Americana". Recent molecular phylogenies have shown that subgenus "Urostigma" is polyphyletic, but have strongly supported the validity of section "Americana" as a discrete group (although its exact relationship to section "Galoglychia" is unclear).cite journal | quotes = no | last = Rønsted | first = N. | coauthors = Weiblen, G. D.; Clement, W. L.; Zerega, N. J. C.; Savolainen, V. | year = 2008 | month = | title = Reconstructing the phylogeny of figs (Ficus, Moraceae) to reveal the history of the fig pollination mutualism | journal = Symbiosis | volume = 45 | issue = 1–3 | pages = 45–56 | url = http://geo.cbs.umn.edu/RonstedEtAl2008a.pdf ]

Thomas Nuttall described the species in the second volume of the his 1846 work "The North American Sylva" with specific epithet "aurea" ('golden' in Latin). [cite book|author = Simpson DP| title = Cassell's Latin Dictionary | publisher = Cassell Ltd.| year = 1979|edition = 5|location = London|pages = 883| isbn=0-304-52257-0] In 1768, Scottish botanist Philip Miller described "Ficus maxima", citing Linneaus' "Hortus Cliffortianus" (1738) and Hans Sloane's "Catalogus plantarum quæ in insula Jamaica" (1696). Sloane's illustration of the species, published in 1725, depicted it with figs borne singly, a characteristic of the "Ficus" subgenus "Pharmacosycea". [cite book| last =Sloane | first =Hans | authorlink = Hans Sloane | title =A voyage to the islands Madera, Barbados, Nieves, S. Christophers and Jamaica | publisher =B.M | year =1725 | url = ] As a member of the subgenus "Urostigma", "F. aurea" has paired figs. However, a closer examination of Sloane's description led Cornelis Berg to conclude that the illustration depicted a member of the subgenus "Urostigma" (since it had other diagnostic of that subgenus), almost certainly "F. aurea", and that the illustration of singly borne figs was probably artistic license. Berg located the plant collection upon which Sloane's illustration was based and concluded that Miller's "F. maxima" was, in fact, "F. aurea".cite journal | quotes = no | last = Berg | first = Cornelis C. | year = 2003 | month = May | title = (1587–1590) Proposals to conserve the names "Ficus citrifolia" against "F. caribaea", "F. maxima" with a conserved type, "F. aurea" against "F. ciliolosa", and "F. americana" against "F. perforata" (Moraceae) | journal = Taxon | volume = 52 | issue = 2 | pages = 368–70 | url = http://www.jstor.org/pss/3647421 ] When Thomas Nuttall described "F. aurea" based on collections from Florida, he considered the possibility that his plants belonged to the same species that Sloane had described, but he decided that it was a new species. Under the rules of botanical nomenclature, the name "F. maxima" has priority over "F. aurea" since Miller's description was published in 1768, while Nuttall's description was published in 1846.

In their 1914 "Flora of Jamaica", William Fawcett and Alfred Barton Rendle linked Sloane's illustration to the tree species that was then known as "Ficus suffocans", a name that had been assigned to it in August Grisebach's "Flora of the British West Indian Islands".cite book|last=Grisebach|first=August |authorlink=August Grisebach|title=Flora of the British West Indian Islands|origyear=1859|url=http://www.botanicus.org/bibliography/b11788513|accessdate=2008-07-02|volume=1|publisher=L. Reeve & Co|location=London] Gordon DeWolf agreed with their conclusion and used the name "F. maxima" for that species in the 1960 "Flora of Panama".DeWolf, Gordon P., Jr. 1960. Ficus (Tourn.) L. "In" Lorin I. Nevling, Jr., [http://www.jstor.org/pss/2394704 Flora of Panama. Part IV. Fascicle II] . "Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden", 47 (2):81–203] Since this use has become widespread, Berg proposed that the name "Ficus maxima" be conserved in the way DeWolf had used it, a proposal that was accepted by the nomenclatural committee.cite journal | quotes = no | last = Brummitt | first = R.K. | year = 2005 | month = May | title = Report of the Committee for Spermatophyta: 56 | journal = Taxon | volume = 54 | issue = 2 | pages = 527–36 | url = http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iapt/tax/2005/00000054/00000002/art00036 ]

Reassigning the name "Ficus maxima" did not leave "F. aurea" as the oldest name for this species, as German naturalist Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link had described "Ficus ciliolosa" in 1822. Berg concluded that the species Link described was actually "F. aurea", and since Link's description predated Nuttall's by 24 years, priority should have been given to the name "F. ciliolosa". Since the former name was widely used and the name "F. ciliolosa" had not been, Berg proposed that the name "F. aurea" be conserved. In response to this, the nomenclatural committee ruled that rather than conserving "F. aurea", that it would be better to reject "F. ciliolosa". Conserving "F. aurea" would meant that precedence would be given to that name over all others. By simply rejecting "F. ciliolosa", the committee left open the possibility that the name "F. aurea" could be supplanted by another older name, if one were to be discovered.

ynonyms

In 1920, American botanist Paul C. Standley described three new species based on collections from Panama and Costa Rica—"Ficus tuerckheimii", "F. isophlebia" and "F. jimenezii".cite journal |last=Standley |first=Paul C. |authorlink= Paul Carpenter Standley |year=1920 |title=The Mexican and Central American Species of Ficus |journal=Contributions from the United States National Herbarium |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=1–35 |url=http://www.botanicus.org/page/373799] DeWolf concluded that they were all the same species, and Berg synonymised them with "F. aurea". These names have been used widely for Mexican and Central American populations, and continue to be used by some authors. Berg suspected that "Ficus rzedowskiana" Carvajal & Cuevas-Figueroa may also belong to this species, but he had not examined the original material upon which this species was based.

Berg considered "F. aurea" to be a species with at least four morphs. "None of the morphs", he wrote, "can be related to certain habitats or altitudes." Thirty years earlier, William Burger had come to a very different conclusion with respect to "Ficus tuerckheimii", "F. isophlebia" and "F. jimenezii"—he rejected DeWolf's synonymisation of these three species as based on incomplete evidence. Burger noted that the three taxa occupied different habitats which could be separated in terms of rainfall and elevation.cite journal |quotes = no | last= Burger |first= William C. |title= Ecological Differentiation in Some Congeneric Species of Costa Rican Flowering Plants |journal= Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden |volume= 61 |issue= 2 |pages= 297–306 |url = http://www.jstor.org/pss/2395057]

Reproduction and growth

Figs have an obligate mutualism with fig wasps, (Agaonidae); figs are only pollinated by fig wasps, and fig wasps can only reproduce in fig flowers. Generally, each fig species depends on a single species of wasp for pollination. The wasps are similarly dependent on their fig species in order to reproduce. "Ficus aurea" is pollinated by "Pegoscapus mexicanus" (Ashmead).cite journal | quotes = no | last = Jousselin| first = Emmanuelle | coauthors = Hossaert-Mckey, Martine ; Vernet, Didier; Kjellberg, Finn | year = 2001 | title = Egg deposition patterns of fig pollinating wasps: implications for studies on the stability of the mutualism | journal = Ecological Entomology | volume = 26 | issue = 6 | pages = 602–08 | doi = 10.1046/j.1365-2311.2001.00368.x ]

Figs have complicated inflorescences called syconia. Flowers are entirely contained within an enclosed structure. Their only connection with the outside is through a small pore called ostiole. Monoecious figs like "F. aurea" have both male and female flowers within the syconium.cite journal | quotes = no | last = Janzen | first = Daniel H. | authorlink = Daniel Janzen | year = 1979 | title = How to be a fig | journal = Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics | volume = 10 | pages = 13–51 | issn = 0066-4162 | doi = 10.1146/annurev.es.10.110179.000305 ] Female flowers mature first. Once mature, they produce a volatile chemical attractant.cite journal | quotes = no | last = Bronstein | first = Judith L. | coauthors = Hossaert-McKey, Martine | year = 1995 | month = | title = Hurricane Andrew and a Florida Fig Pollination Mutualism: Resilience of an Obligate Interaction | journal = Biotropica | volume = 27 | issue = 3 | pages = 373–81| url = http://www.jstor.org/pss/2388922 ] Female wasps squeeze their way through the ostiole into the interior of the syconium. Inside the syconium, they pollinate the flowers, lay their eggs in some of them, and die. The eggs hatch and the larvae parasitise the flowers in which they were laid. After four to seven weeks (in "F. aurea"), adult wasps emerge. Males emerge first, mate with the females, and cut exit holes through the walls of the fig. The male flowers mature around the same time as the female wasps emerge. The newly emerged female wasps actively pack their bodies with pollen from the male flowers before leaving through the exit holes the males have cut and fly off to find a syconium in which to lay their eggs. Over the next one to five days, figs ripen. The ripe figs are eaten by a variety of mammals and birds which disperse the seeds.

Phenology

Figs flower and fruit asynchronously.cite journal | quotes = no | last = Bronstein | first = Judith L. | coauthors = Patel, Aviva | year = 1992 | title = Causes and Consequences of Within-Tree Phenological Patterns in the Florida Strangling Fig, Ficus aurea (Moraceae) | journal = American Journal of Botany | volume = 79 | issue = 1 | pages = 41–48 | url = http://www.jstor.org/pss/2445195 ] Flowering and fruiting is staggered throughout the population. This fact is important for fig wasps—female wasps need to find a syconium to lay their eggs in within a few days of emergence, something that would not be possible if all the trees in a population flowered and fruited at the same time. This also makes figs important food resources for frugivores (animals that feed nearly exclusively on fruit); figs are one of the few fruit available at times of the year when fruit are scarce.

Although figs flower asynchronously as a population, in most species flowering is synchronised within an individual. Newly emerged female wasps must move away from their natal tree in order to find figs in which to lay their eggs. This is to the advantage of the fig, since it prevents self-pollination. In Florida, individual "F. aurea" trees flower and fruit asynchronously. Within-tree asynchrony in flowering is likely to raise the probability of self-pollination, but it may be an adaptation that allows the species to maintain an adequate population of wasps at low population densities or in strongly seasonal climates.

Flowering phenology in "Ficus" has been characterised into five phases. In most figs, phase A is followed almost immediately by phase B. However, in "F. aurea" immature inflorescences can remain dormant for more than nine months.

Growth

"Ficus aurea" is a fast-growing tree.cite web |last=Broschat |first= Timothy K. |coauthors =Alan W. Meerow, Robert J. Black |month=February | year=2007 |title=Enviroscaping to Conserve Energy: Trees for South Florida |publisher=Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (Circular EES-42) |url=http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/EH142 |accessdate=2008-06-10] As a hemiepiphyte it germinates in the canopy of a host tree and begin life as an epiphyte before growing roots down to the ground. "F. aurea" is also a strangler fig (not all hemiepiphytic figs are stranglers)—the roots fuse and encircle the host tree. This usually results in the death of the host tree, since it effectively girdles the tree. Palms, which lack secondary growth, are not affected by this, but they can still be harmed by competition for light, water and nutrients.cite journal | quotes = no | last = Putz | first = Francis E. | coauthors = N. Michele Holbrook | year = 1989 | month = | title = Strangler Fig Rooting Habits and Nutrient Relations in the Llanos of Venezuela | journal = American Journal of Botany | volume = 76 | issue = 6 | pages = 781–88 | url = http://www.jstor.org/pss/2444534 ] In Great Exuma in The Bahamas, palms are the only hosts for stranglers, despite the presence of other large trees.cite journal | quotes = no | last = Swagel | first = Eric N. | coauthors = Bernhard, A. Van H.; Ellmore, George S. | year = 1997 | title = Substrate water potential constraints on germination of the strangler fig "Ficus aurea" (Moraceae) | journal = American Journal of Botany | volume = 84 | issue = 5 | pages = 716–22 | url = http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/content/abstract/84/5/716 | doi = 10.2307/2445908 ] Following Hurricane Andrew in 1992, "F. aurea" trees regenerated from root suckers and standing trees.cite journal | quotes = no | last = Horvitz | first = Carol C. | coauthors = Pascarella, John B.; McMann, Stephen; Freedman, Andrea; Hofstetter, Ronald H. | year = 1988 | month = | title = Functional Roles of Invasive Non-Indigenous Plants in Hurricane-Affected Subtropical Hardwood Forests | journal = Ecological Applications | volume = 8 | issue = 4 | pages = 947–74 |doi=10.1890/1051-0761(1998)008 [0947:FROINI]2.0.CO;2| doilabel = 10.1890/1051-0761(1998)008[0947:FROINI]2.0.CO;2]

Distribution

"Ficus aurea" ranges from Florida, across the northern Caribbean to Mexico, and south across Central America. It is present in central and southern Florida and the Florida Keys,cite book |last=Little |first=Elbert L., Jr. |year=1978 |title=Atlas of United States Trees, Volume 5: Florida |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Forest Service |oclc=241660 ] The Bahamas, the Caicos Islands, Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, San Andrés (a Colombian possession in the western Caribbean), southern Mexico,cite journal | quotes = no | last = Serrato | first = Alejandra | coauthors = Ibarra-Manríquez, Guillermo; Oyama, Ken | year = 2004 | month = March | title = Biogeography and conservation of the genus "Ficus" (Moraceae) in Mexico | journal = Journal of Biogeography | volume = 31 | issue = 3 | pages = 475–85 | url = http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.0305-0270.2003.01039.x | doi = 10.1046/j.0305-0270.2003.01039.x ] Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama. [http://www.tropicos.org/MobotProjects.aspx?project=flmaname&nameid=21300459 Ficus aurea Nutt.] Flora Mesoamericana: Lista Anotada. es Retrieved on 2008-07-02] It grows from sea level up to 1,800 m (5,500 ft) above sea level, in habitats ranging from tropical dry forest in The Bahamas, to cloud forest in Costa Rica.cite journal | quotes = no | last = Sillett | first = Stephen C. | coauthors = Gradstein, S. Rob; Griffin, Dana, III | year = 1995 | title = Bryophyte Diversity of Ficus Tree Crowns from Cloud Forest and Pasture in Costa Rica | journal = The Bryologist | volume = 98 | issue = 2 | pages = 251–60 | url = http://www.jstor.org/pss/3243312 ]

"Ficus aurea" is found in central and southern Florida as far north as Volusia County; [ cite web |title="Ficus aurea": Distribution Map |url=http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/maps.asp?plantID=2466 |work=Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants |publisher=Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florid |accessdate=2008-06-10] it is one of only two native fig species in Florida. The species is present in a range of south Florida ecosystems, including coastal hardwood hammocks, cabbage palm hammocks,
tropical hardwood hammocks and shrublands, temperate hardwood hammocks and shrublands [cite web |author=Ken Rutchey & al. |url=http://sofia.usgs.gov/publications/ofr/2006-1240/ |title=Vegetation Classification for South Florida Natural Areas |year=2006 |publisher=United States Geological Survey |accessdate=2008-06-10 Open-File Report 2006-1240. ] and along watercourses. In The Bahamas, "F. aurea" is found in dry forests in North Andros,cite journal | quotes = no | last = Smith | first = Inge K. | coauthors = Vankat, John L. | year = 1992 | month = | title = Dry Evergreen Forest (Coppice) Communities of North Andros Island, Bahamas | journal = Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club | volume = 119 | issue = 2 | pages = 181–91 | url = http://www.jstor.org/pss/2997030 ] Great Exuma and Bimini. [cite journal | quotes = no | last = Howard | first = Richard A. | year = 1950 | month = | title = Vegetation of the Bimini Island Group: Bahamas, B. W. I. | journal = Ecological Monographs | volume = 20 | issue = 4 | pages = 317–49 | url = http://www.jstor.org/pss/1943569 ] "F. aurea" occurs in 10 states in Mexico, primarily in the south, but extending as far north as Jalisco. It is found in tropical deciduous forest, tropical semi-evergreen forest, tropical evergreen forest, cloud forest and in aquatic or subaquatic habitats.

Ecology

"Ficus aurea" is a strangler fig—it tends to establish on a host tree which it gradually encircles and "strangles", eventually taking the place of that tree in the forest canopy. While this makes "F. aurea" an agent in the mortality of other trees, there is little to indicate that its choice of hosts is species specific. However, in dry forests in Great Exuma in The Bahamas, "F. aurea" establishes exclusively on palms, in spite of the presence of several other large trees that should provide suitable hosts. Swagel and colleagues attributed this to the fact that humus that accumulates in the leaf bases of these palms provides a relatively moist microclimate in a dry environment, facilitating seedling survival.

Figs are sometimes considered to be potential keystone species in communities of fruit-eating animals because of their asynchronous fruiting patterns.cite book|last=Terborgh|first=John|editor=Michael E. Soulé (ed.)|title=Conservation Biology: The Science of Scarcity and Diversity|year=1986|publisher=Sinauer Associates|location=Sunderland, Massachusetts|language=|isbn=978-0878937950|pages=330–344|chapter=Keystone plant resources in the tropical forests] Wheelwright reports that Emerald Toucanets fed on unripe "F. aurea" fruit at times of fruit scarcity in Monteverde, Costa Rica. [cite journal | quotes = no | last = Wheelwright | first = Nathaniel T. | year = 1985 | month = June | title = Competition for dispersers, and the timing of flowering and fruiting in a guild of tropical trees | journal = Oikos | volume = 44 | pages = 465–77 | url = http://www.bowdoin.edu/faculty/n/nwheelwr/pdf/Compfordisp.pdf | doi = 10.2307/3565788 ] Wheelwright listed the species as a year-round food source for the Resplendent Quetzal at the same site. [cite journal | quotes = no | last = Wheelwright | first = Nathaniel T. | year = 1983 | month = | title = Fruits and the Ecology of Resplendent Quetzals | journal = The Auk | volume = 100 | issue = 2 | pages = 286–301 | url = http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v100n02/p0286-p0301.pdf ] In the Florida Keys, "F. aurea" is one of the five fruit species that dominate the diet fed by White-crowned Pigeons to their nestlings.cite journal | quotes = no | last = Bancroft | first = G. Thomas | coauthors = Reed Bowman | year = 1994 | month = | title = Temporal Patterns in Diet of Nestling White-Crowned Pigeons: Implications for Conservation of Frugivorous Columbids | journal = The Auk | volume = 111 | issue = 4 | pages = 844–52 | url = http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v111n04/p0844-p0852.pdf ] "F. aurea" is also important in the diet of mammalian frugivores&mdash;both fruit and young leaves are consumed by black howler monkeys in Belize.cite journal | quotes = no | last = Silver | first = S. C. | coauthors = L. E. T. Ostro; C. P. Yeager; R. Horwich | year = 1999 | month = | title = Feeding ecology of the black howler monkey ("Alouatta pigra") in Northern Belize | journal = American Journal of Primatology | volume = 45 | issue = 3 | pages = 263–79 |url=http://www.communityconservation.org/publications/feedeco98.pdf |pmid=9651649 | doi = 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2345(1998)45:3<263::AID-AJP3>3.0.CO;2-U| doilabel = 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2345(1998)45:3263::AID-AJP33.0.CO;2-U ]

The interaction between figs and fig wasps is especially well-known (see section on reproduction, above). In addition to its pollinators ("Pegoscapus mexicanus"), "F. aurea" is exploited by a group of non-pollinating chalcidoid wasps whose larvae develop in its figs. These include gallers, inquilines and kleptoparasites as well as parasitoids of both the pollinating and non-pollinating wasps.cite journal | quotes = no | last = Bronstein | first = Judith L. | year = 1999 | month = | title = Natural History of "Anidarnes bicolor" (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae), a Galler of the Florida Strangling Fig ("Ficus aurea") | journal = The Florida Entomologist | volume = 82 | issue = 3 | pages = 454–61 | url = http://www.fcla.edu/FlaEnt/fe82p454.pdf ]

As a large tree, "F. aurea" can be an important host for epiphytes. In cloud forest in Costa Rica, where "F. aurea" is "the most conspicuous component" of intact forest, trees in forest patches supported richer communities of epiphytic bryophytes, while isolated trees supported greater lichen cover.

Florida International University ecologist Suzanne Koptur reported the presence of extrafloral nectaries on "F. aurea" figs in the Florida Everglades.cite journal | quotes = no | last = Koptur | first = Suzanne | year = 1992 | month = | title = Plants with Extrafloral Nectaries and Ants in Everglades Habitats | journal = The Florida Entomologist | volume = 75 | issue = 1 | pages = 38–50 | url = http://www.fiu.edu/%7Ekopturs/pubs/SK92FlaEnt.pdf| doi = 10.2307/3495479 ] Extrafloral nectaries are structures which produce nectar but are not associated with flowers. They are usually interpreted as defensive structure and are often produced in response to attack by insect herbivores.cite journal | quotes = no | last = Heil | first = Martin | year = 2007 | title = Indirect defence via tritrophic interactions | journal = New Phytologist | volume = 178 | issue = 1 | pages = 41–61 | url = http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119394700/abstract ] They attract insects, primarily ants, which defend the nectaries, thus protecting the plant against herbivores.cite journal | quotes = no | last = Bronstein | first = Judith L.| coauthors = Alarcón, Ruben; Geber, Monica| year = 2006 | title = The evolution of plant–insect mutualisms | journal = New Phytologist | volume = 172 | issue = 3 | pages = 412–28 | url = http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118627369/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 ]

Uses

The fruit of "Ficus aurea" is edible and was used for food by the indigenous people and early settlers in Florida. The latex was used to make a chewing gum, and aerial roots may have been used to make lashings, arrows, bowstrings and fishing lines. The fruit was used to make a rose-coloured dye.cite web |last=Allen |first=Ginger M. |coauthors =Bond, Michael D.; Main, Martin B. |month=December | year=2002 |title=50 Common Native Plants Important In Florida's Ethnobotanical History |publisher=Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (Circular 1439) |url=http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW152 |accessdate=2008-06-10] "F. aurea" was also used in traditional medicine in The Bahamas [cite journal | quotes = no | last = Eldridge | first = Joan | year = 1975 | month = October | title = Bush medicine in the Exumas and Long Island, Bahamas. A field study | journal = Economic Botany | volume = 29 | issue = 4 | pages = 307–32 | doi =10.1007/BF02862180 | url = http://www.springerlink.com/content/a52r873318238180/ ] and Florida. Allison Adonizio and colleagues screened "F. aurea" for anti-quorum sensing activity (as a possible means of anti-bacterial action), but found no such activity.cite journal | quotes = no | last = Adonizio | first = Allison L. | coauthors = Downum, Kelsey; Bennett, Bradley C.; Mathee, Kalai | year = 2006 | month = | title = Anti-quorum sensing activity of medicinal plants in southern Florida | journal = Journal of Ethnopharmacology | volume = 105 | issue = 3 | pages = 427–35 | doi = 10.1016/j.jep.2005.11.025 ]

Individual "F. aurea" trees are common on diary farms in La Cruz, Cañitas and Santa Elena in Costa Rica, since they are often spared when forest is converted to pasture. In interviews, farmers identified the species as useful for fence posts, live fencing and firewood, and as a food species for wild birds and mammals.cite journal | quotes = no | last = Harvey | first = C. A. | coauthors = Haber, W. A. | year = 1998 | title = Remnant trees and the conservation of biodiversity in Costa Rican pastures | journal = Agroforestry Systems | volume = 44 | issue = 1 | pages = 37–68 | doi = 10.1023/A:1006122211692 | url = ]

"Ficus aurea" is used as an ornamental tree, an indoor tree and as a bonsai. Like other figs, it tends to invade built structures and foundations, and need to be removed to prevent structural damage.cite journal | quotes = no | last = Nadel | first = Hannah | coauthors = Frank, J. Howard; Knight, R. J., Jr. | year = 1992 | month = March | title = Escapees and Accomplices: The Naturalization of Exotic "Ficus" and Their Associated Faunas in Florida | journal = The Florida Entomologist | volume = 75 | issue = 1 | pages = 29–39 | url = http://www.jstor.org/pss/3495478 ] Although young trees are described as "rather ornamental",cite journal | quotes = no | last = Bessey | first = Ernst A. | authorlink = Ernst Bessey | year = 1908 | month = | title = The Florida Strangling Figs | journal = Missouri Botanical Garden Annual Report | volume = 1908 | pages = 25–33 | url = http://www.jstor.org/pss/2400063 ] older trees are considered to be difficult to maintain (because of the adventitious roots the develop off branches) and are not recommended for small areas. However, it was considered a useful tree for "enviroscaping" to conserve energy in south Florida, since it is "not as aggressive as many exotic fig species", although it must be given enough space.

References

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