The Ficus taxonomy in the articles on this website are based on Flora Malesiana Volume 17/Part 2-2005 Moraceae (Ficus) by C.C. Berg and E.J.J.Corner – in shortened form – Berg (2005). However some of taxonomic decisions made in Berg (2005) require correction.
In Berg (2005), Berg describes a new species of fig from the Sandakan area, Ficus sandanakana (in Section: Sycidium) based on two collections from the Leila Forest Reserve on the forested ridge behind Sandakan town. In September 2014, I spent 2 days with the late Dewol Sindumin, a very experienced botanist recently retired from the Sandakan Herbarium who had made one of the two original collections of Ficus sandanakana, looking for this fig. We searched both Kebun Cina and the Leila Forest Reserve.
We found numerous examples of Ficus inaequipetiolata but none of Ficus sandanakana. On re-reading Berg’s type description of Ficus sandanakana I came to the conclusion that Berg was describing an example of F. inaequipetiolata including a ripe male fig in which the ostiole had opened up to let the female pollinating fig wasps escape. Therefore F. sandanakana is not accepted as a separate species and is sunk into Ficus inaequipetiolata on this website.