Ficus eumorpha is a locally common fig of secondary forest endemic to the Bornean mountains above c.1,300 m.
All photos taken in the Crocker Range by Chun Xing Wong of 1StopBorneo Wildlife.
As can be seen from the photos this female fig is covered in sharp hairs externally and the interior is also full of sharp hairs surrounding the ripe seeds. The leaves look and feel and like coarse sandpaper both above and below. What animal could possibly want to eat the leaves or the ripe figs and disperse the seeds ?
The answer is that F. eumorpha probably evolved to be dispersed by rhinos. The Sumatran Rhinoceros was once abundant in the Bornean mountains using ridge top trails to wander between the patches of pioneer secondary forest, the result of frequent landslips.
The closest relatives to Ficus eumorpha are the lowland figs of secondary forest Ficus aurata, and Ficus bruneiensis. F. brunneoaurata is a related fig locally common on old landslips in hill forest.
