Large male Ficus punctata figs growing at Tabin Wildlife Reserve in East Sabah. For photos of female F. punctata figs which grow in the same area see Ficus punctata female.
See this article for a comparison of male and female Ficus punctata figs growing next to the Canopy Walkway at Ulu Temburong in Brunei.
Ficus punctata is a common very variable fig as described by Berg (2005) in the Flora Malesiana monograph. Most likely Ficus punctata is a species complex which also includes several different species including Ficus barba-jovis.
All photos by Dr Zainal Zahari Zainuddin the BORA site manager of the fig orchard at the Sabah Ficus Germplasm Project.
The latex possessed by all figs has a protective function. The latex gums up the mouth parts of insects and animals that eat the leaves and the unripe fig fruits. Because female figs have evolved to be eaten by dispersers the latex disappears when the female fig is “ripe” packed full of seeds ready to germinate . Male figs are “ripe” once the pollinating fig wasps have left the fig, so the fact that there is latex present indicates that the fig wasps have not yet hatched and left..
The tape measure shows that these male figs are approx. 11 cm long and 7.5 cm wide. Ficus punctata is one of Borneo’s largest figs. However Ficus densechini figs have been recorded with a diameter of 12 cm. According to Dr Zainal the weight of three male Ficus punctata figs varied from 240-320 grams with an average weight of 286 grams.
