Namaqua rock fig | |
---|---|
In the Fish River Canyon, Namibia | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Rosales |
Family: | Moraceae |
Genus: | Ficus |
Subgenus: | F. subg. Urostigma |
Species: | F. cordata
|
Binomial name | |
Ficus cordata |
Ficus cordata, the Namaqua rock fig, [1] or Namaqua fig [2] is a species of fig that occurs in two disjunct populations in Africa, one in the arid southwest of the continent, and a second in the northern subtropics. In the south it is often the largest and most prominent tree, [3] and is virtually restricted to cliff faces and rock outcrops, [4] where it has a rock-splitting habit. [5]
The subspecies are: [6]
The nominate subspecies is native to arid western South Africa, Namibia and southwestern Angola, [4] while a second subspecies is native to Africa's northern subtropics. The nominate subspecies is found in fynbos, succulent Karoo and Nama Karoo, [4] while the northern subspecies is found in savannah, up to 1,500 m above sea level. [7]
The nominate subspecies is pollinated by the wasp Platyscapa desertorum Compton. The wasp Comptoniella vannoorti Wiebes is an associated non-pollinator that oviposits through the fig wall. [4] The pollinator wasp of the northern subspecies, F. c. lecardii, is as yet unknown. [7]
F. salicifolia, [8] the Wonderboom, is sometimes deemed a third subspecies of Ficus cordata, i.e. F. c. subsp. salicifolia (Vahl) C.C.Berg, but it lacks the yellowish sessile figs of F. cordata, and its range is much to the east.
{{
cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
{{
cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)