Ficus abutilifolia (Miq.) Miq.
F. kerstingii Hutch.
Eng.: Large-leaved rock fig. Spa.: Higuera afrotropical. Ara.: Kerma, kermusa. Tam.: Taguerurt, tin.
Tree up to 15 m in height, terrestrial to (hemi-) epiphytic, deciduous to semi-deciduous. Trunk usually somewhat tortuous, with a bright bark, whitish to white-yellowish and smooth. Branches with abundant leaves, 6-15 mm thick, glabrous, yellowish to whitish-tomentose, with bark often flaking when dry. Leaves petiolate (2-12 cm), spirally arranged around the branches, broadly ovate, heart-shaped to rounded, cordate at the base, 6-19 × 5-20 cm, subcoriaceous, with apex slightly acuminate to subacute, or even obtuse and rounded, with entire margin; upper side glabrous or with some hairs on the main veins, underside pubescent to subtomentose; secondary veins in 4-9 pairs; stipules 5-20 mm long, pubescent to glabrous, caducous. Male flowers scattered among female flowers, usually with 3 fused tepals and 1 stamen per flower. Female flowers with 4 fused tepals. Syconia subglobose, ovoid or ellipsoid, 1-1.6 cm in diameter, sparsely pubescent, reddish to yellowish at maturity, arranged in pairs, sometimes up to 4 pairs together, in leaf axils or just a slightly below, peduncles 3-5 mm; ostiolar bracts 2.5-3.5 mm, with long free parts, persistent, sometimes caducous, somewhat inserted into the ostiolar cavity.
Flowering:
Can flower throughout the year if there is sufficient water.
Fruiting:
Almost at any time of year.
Habitat:
Slopes of rocky mountains and rocky outcrops up to more than 1,000 m in altitude.
Distribution:
From Guinea to Ethiopia and Somalia, disjunctly reaching Tanzania and Natal (South Africa). In North Africa it grows dispersed in the Mauritanian Adrar and the Zemmur regions.
Conservation status:
Common and widely distributed species, it does not seem threatened. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, the Saharan populations, that can be considered of high genetic and biogeographic value, are threatened by logging and desertification.