Ficus nota is a close relative of Ficus fistulosa and has often been confused in the past. The distribution map copied from Berg (2005) see below ,shows that Ficus nota is a Philippine fig plant with a limited distribution in the hills of northern Borneo.Ficus nota is common higher up in the Crocker Range above 1,000m often close to houses showing that it may have been planted. The female figs are eaten unripe, mixed into a green salad known locally as “ulam”. Local Kadazans only eat the figs from female trees. This is a male tree in which the figs naturally rot on the tree or fall to the ground uneaten.Ficus nota male fig tree showing the ripe figs surrounded by a pile of woody sawdust type debris used by black ants for shelter. Black ants are often associated with male Sycocarpus fig trees as they feed on the many species of fig wasps that both pollinate and parasitize the tree.
This map copied from Berg (2005) shows that Ficus nota is a Philippine plant which has colonised Northern Borneo perhaps dispersed by bats or possibly introduced by early humans.
