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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) - An evergreen to semi-deciduous, spreading, large shrub or small tree reaching 25 feet tall and as wide with large ova- shaped leaves as large as 15 inches in diameter. The new growth is a deep coppery-red color that matures to light green. 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. It is hardy to about 25 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 it was adjacent to our heated greenhouse where it received some protection from its proximity to this structure. This plant has an extensive range from India east to Nepal, China, and Southeast Asia where its figs are considered edible and quite delicious. The fruit is 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. Ficus auriculata (as F. roxburghii) was an introduction into California by Francisco Franceschi at his Santa Barbara nursery. Peter Riedel ("Plants for Extra-tropical Regions" - published after Riedel's death in 1957) documents this introduction in 1909 by Franceschi with a subsequent introduction by the US Bureau of Plant Industry (USDA) in 1928 (BPI-#76755-1928). There was not a comparison made of the two accessions. Riedel further noted that there was a large tree on the grounds of UCLA in 1935. The genus name Ficus comes from the ancient Latin name for figs and their edible fruit and the specific epithet comes from the Latin word 'auricular', a diminutive of 'auris' meaning "the ear" in reference to the large rounded lobes of the leaves that resemble an ear.
The information about Ficus auriculata displayed on this page is based on research conducted in our library and from reliable online resources. We also relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we visit, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others, and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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