SETIFLORA  Ficus setiflora  Staph (1894)                                       Borneo endemic

Latin: Bristle flowers referring to the numerous internal hairs in the fig

A locally common small tree to 7m, with spirally arranged dentate (toothed) leaves. Typically found on ridges in the Borneo mountains.

Leaf: Berg (2005) notes that the leaves are very variable both in size and in the amount of hairs on the surface (indumentum).

Note that the basal veins run close to the leaf margin and are always from 1/3 to ½ the length of the leaf.

Fig: Small, hairy, with a short peduncle ripening green to red to purple.

Sex: Dioecious

Similar species. See chart under F. subfulva. Compared with F. setiflora;

(1) F. fulva has long, straight basal veins not veins that follow the leaf margin.

(2) F. subfulva has long, straight basal veins. Tertiary basal veins in parallel rows.

(3) F. aurata has larger leaves and very hairy figs which ripen green-yellow-orange–red not green-red.

(4) F. androchaete. Basal veins follow the leaf margin as with F. setiflora but the tertiary basal veins are in parallel rows across the leaf as with F. subfulva.

(5) F. inaequipetiolata has short basal veins (less than 1/3 the length of the leaf and the figs are sessile (no peduncle).

Herbarium Confusion: In herbarium collections this fig is frequently confused with Ficus inaequipetiolata which has much larger less hairy leaves and also occurs in both a narrow leaf morph and a broad leaf morph.

 Distribution: On Kinabalu the 4th most common fig in herbarium collections (Beaman 2005) found up to 2,700m on the east ridge of Kinabalu. Occurs throughout the Bornean mountains from Kinabalu south to Kalimantan generally above 1,100m. In Brunei has been collected on Bukit Pagon and Bukit Retak growing on mountain ridges at 1,500m in the Ulu Temburong NP (Coode et al 1996).

Lowland Records: Rhett Harrison reported that at Lambir NP in coastal N. Sarawak F. setiflora is the second commonest fig in the under storey of the 52ha plot with 280 individuals above 1 cm dbh. This lowland record needs confirmation.