Ficus retusa

Ficus retusa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Moraceae
Genus:	Ficus
Species:	F. retusa
Binomial name
Ficus retusa L.
Synonyms[1]
Ficus truncata (Miq.) Miq. nom. illeg.

Ficus retusa is a species of evergreen woody plant in the fig genus, native to the Malay Archipelago and Malesia floristic region. The species name has been widely mis-applied to Ficus microcarpa.^[2]

Description

Ficus retusa is a rapidly growing, rounded, broad-headed, evergreen shrub or tree that can reach 15 metres (49 ft) or more in height with an equal spread. The smooth, light grey trunk is quite striking, can grow to around 1 metre (3.3 ft) in diameter, and it firmly supports the massively spreading canopy.

The tree has small, dark green leaves which alternate up the stem and which are oval. It has a gray to reddish bark dotted with small, horizontal flecks, called lenticels, and are used by woody plant species for supplementary gas exchange through the bark. It is considered one of the easiest trees to keep as a bonsai.

Notes

1. The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species, retrieved 13 April 2016
2. "Ficus microcarpa L. f.", USDA GRIN Taxonomy

External links