Site icon THE FIGS OF BORNEO

Ficus carrii, female: Kinabalu Park HQ, Sabah

uluulublog

A female fig of the legendary Ficus carrii photographed in forest near Kinabalu Park HQ in Sabah.

This is the first photographic record of this bizarre, rare, fig endemic to the mountains of northern Borneo.  All photos by Shuai LIAO taken on 8 September 2019. Collection # 20190371. Collections by Postar Miun and a botanical team from the Sandakan herbarium.

Note that scattered among the thick hairs are  tiny pale brown structures similar to the seeds on the surface of a strawberry.  As the figs decay these  objects grow in size and turn green, possibly ending up as small plants cloned from the mother liana. If this hypothesis is correct then this would be unique for any plant.

The seeds of Ficus carrii are unusual for a root climbing liana fig in that they are smooth and oblong with no odd  protuberances or shape that would make them easy for ants to carry.

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