Ficus obpyramidata is a fig that grows along rivers in Thailand and Malaya which is occasionally seen for sale in local forest product markets in Sarawak. The large edible figs are pear shaped and ripen dirty white or greenish.
No local figs are eaten ripe in Borneo however a few species are eaten when green either as a starvation food or as a vegetable addition to a sour salad known as ” ulam” – the equivalent of pickles in European cuisine. These figs include Ficus racemosa, Ficus fistulosa and Ficus nota.
Locals only eat unripe female figs NOT male figs.
Two introduced continental Asian figs Ficus auriculata and Ficus obpyramidata are occasionally grown in home orchards especially in Sarawak and may also be eaten occasionally when ripe.
Many locals have tried cultivating the Edible fig of Europe and the Middle East Ficus carica in Borneo but experiments have shown that they can only be grown in special dry conditions in pots under a roof. Grown outside in the ground they rapidly succumb to fungal diseases.
To add to the confusion Kochummen’s treatment of Ficus in the Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak Vol.3 (2000) listed Ficus limosa as Ficus obyramidata. Some forest botanists in Sabah still refer to Ficus fistulosa as F. obyramidata !
