Site icon THE FIGS OF BORNEO

Ficus punctata, Maliau access road, Sabah

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ABOVE: Tree trunks festooned with lianas are a common sight in primary forest in Borneo. The problem is in working out how many different plant species are involved.   The messy small branches next to the main trunk and below the main canopy are the leaves of Ficus punctata. The photo below is a closeup view.

The large orange sized figs of Ficus punctata are eaten and the seeds dispersed by primates e g orangutans, gibbons and macaques as well as palm civets.

Note the single ripe fig, purple black  with the bracts surrounding the ostiole slightly open indicating that this probably a male fig and that the fig wasps have left enmass to pollinate a female crop of  Ficus punctata figs on another tree.
Driving the 27 km between the Maliau Security Gate and the Maliau Study Centre  you will experience many magnificent views of the  steep crater rim of the Maliau Basin.

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