Ficus magnoliifolia growing as a shrub next to and supported by another small tree at the Royal Mulu Resort in Sarawak. F. magnoliifolia is a very rare fig in Borneo with only a few collections known. Like other figs in Section Oreiosycea it is probably more common than herbarium collections indicate. This is due to the difficulties of (a) recognizing the leaves without the figs present and (b) making collections from very tall trees with straight trunks.
The Royal Mulu Resort was built on stilts on the flood plain of the Melinau River which frequently overflows its banks and floods the surrounding forest. In the photo below, the muddy ground next to the river bank has been covered by wooden decking. It appears that the original Ficus manoliifolia tree was felled when the decking was installed and some new shoots of the felled tree are growing up through the decking next to a small forest tree which was left unscathed.
The F. magnoliifolia leaves were large, thick and waxy with a shiny upper surface. When cut the leaves emitted copious white sticky latex. The leaf venation exactly matches this herbarium collection of Ficus magnoliifolia from the Philippines.
