ABOVE:  Ficus  treubii  male fig fruits.  From the open ostioles, the large size and the pale colour you can tell that there are 8 ripe male figs fin the photo above. The fig wasps have recently hatched and left via the ostiole. There is also one almost ripe green fig with closed ostiole (lower left). In dioecious figs including Ficus treubii the male figs act as brood chambers for pollinating fig wasps and do not produce seeds.  Male figs are rarely eaten by animals and the fleshy parts probably contain a toxin to deter animals from eating them and thereby destroying the fig wasps.

All photos by Jean-Yves Rasplus taken at Sg Liam near Lambir N. P. on 6 August 2004.

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The raised white dots on the surface of these  male Ficus treubii fig fruits are  believed to be nectaries which produce ant food to attract ants during periods when fig wasps are active around the fig. These male figs look “ripe” but the closed ostioles indicate that the fig wasps  which hatch inside  the fig have not yet bored their way out of the fig.

Harrison (2013) Fig-Ant plant interactions

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Sungai Liam is  in Northern Sarawak just south of Lambir National Park