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Ficus bracteata: Comparison with F. annulata and F. consociata

ABOVE : Ficus bracteata  collected  on a rocky forested ridge top at Sambas  Gunung Sunujuh by the Kagoshima University expedition of 1994 to investigate the plants of West Kalimantan.

Note that the basal veins are relatively short and do not extend far up the leaf. See the photos of  Ficus annulata and Ficus consociata at the bottom of this article for comparison. See also Ficus bracteata: Introduction

Herbarium illustration from Leiden  NATURALIS.

Photo of a variety of Ficus annulata with persistent stipules and hairy immature figs from Batang Duri, Temburong, Brunei, in December 2017
Ficus annulata  as above has too many side veins (12+) to be confused with Ficus bracteata.

The type collection of Ficus bracteata  was first listed  by  Wallich (1847)   based on  a collection from Singapore in 1822.  A  more detailed description was  given by Miquel (1867) A very similar fig collection by Forbes  from Sumatra  was illustrated in King (1888) as Ficus bracteata.

If my hypothesis  that  the type collection of  Ficus bracteata represents a  juvenile F. cucurbitina  this means that  Ficus bracteata as currently known is an invalid name but this needs additional data before it can be confirmed.

TAXONOMIC NOTES: The fig described as Ficus bracteata in Thailand  (Simon Gardner et al 2018)  Forest Trees of Southern Thailand appears to be a close relative of  Ficus consociata  and does not resemble the  original  type listing  by Wallich (1847), description by Miquel (1867), illustrated by King (1888).

Ficus consociata leaf from Maliau. Note that the basal veins extend in a straight line more than half way up the leaf.
Immature Ficus consociata leaf from Maliau. Note that the basal veins extend in a straight line more than half way up the leaf.

 

 

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