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| Category: Tree |
| Family: Moraceae (Mulberrys) |
| Origin: India (Asia) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Insignificant |
| Bloomtime: Not Significant |
| Synonyms: [Ficus roxburghii] |
| Height: 15-20 feet |
| Width: 15-25 feet |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Deer Tolerant: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 25-30° F |
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Ficus auriculata (Roxburgh Fig) - This is a evergreen to semi-deciduous, spreading, large shrub or small tree reaching 25 feet tall and as wide. The large oval shaped leaves grow as large as 15 inches in diameter. The new growth is a deep red. Large rounded figs 3 inches wide by 1 inch tall form in clusters on the trunk and larger branches (cauliflorous) and remain on the plant for extended periods. It performs best in full sun in a wind protected area. Water deeply and infrequently. Hardy to about 25-30 degrees F. Our large tree in the nursery froze back to hard wood in the devastating freeze of 1990 when temperatures dropped in our location to 18°F. Likely we would have lost this plant but was adjacent to our heated greenhouse and likely received some protection from its proximity to this structure. This plant produces many figs and they are considered edible and quite delicious in Malaysia and other tropical parts of the world where they are eaten fresh or added to pineapple juice for a refreshing drink. In California it has been our observation that the fruit remains fairly dry and pithy, and while we have tried eating it many times, we find it quite inedible. The famous American botanist David Fairchild (1869 - 1954) for whom the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden was named wrote in 1927 about a Ficus auriculata (then F. roxburghii) that he had seen at the Oratava on Tenerife in the Canary Islands and also later at the Alligator Farm in Florida in The Journal of Heredity. He noted that Don Juan Bolinaga, the Director of the botanic garden had told him that one needed to fertilize or at least “stimulate” the flowers on the inside of the developing fruit to make it ripen and become edible. Later Fairchild wrote in the Florida State Horticultural Journal of 1944 that he attempted repeatedly to do this without success and later determined that without a particular wasp, a species of Blastophaga, that naturally pollinates this plant, the fruit would remain inedible.
The description above is based on our research and observations of this plant growing in our nursery, in our own garden and in other gardens in the Santa Barbara area. We would appreciate hearing from anyone who has additional information about this plant, even if they disagree with what we have written.
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