Ficus microcarpa growing in the brackish water nipah palm (Nypa fructans) vegetation zone near Kuala Abai in the Kinabatangan river delta. The multiple stilt (banyan) roots give F. microcarpa a stability unavailable to other trees along the unstable river bank. All photos in this account by Anthea Phillipps.The figs and leaves of the brackish water F. microcarpa are no different from those elsewhere in Sabah. It is the multiple support roots that make these fig trees look different.Ficus microcarpa growing in a freshwater oxbow lake near Kuala Abai at the mouth of the Kinabtangan River, Sabah.Ficus microcarpa growing in a freshwater oxbow lake at Kuala Abai near the mouth of the Kinabatangan River in East Sabah. Coastal swamps are the original habitat of F. microcarpa as these photos show.Tony Lamb holding a fruiting twig of Ficus microcarpa. This fig tree was growing in a shallow oxbow lake near Kuala Abai at the mouth of the Kinabatangan River in East Sabah.Ficus microcarpa figs are small, turning from green to white to pink when ripening.
