Flora Malesiana

Series I - Seed Plants Volume 17 part 2 - 2005 Moraceae – Ficus C.C. Berg & E.J.H. Corner † Published by the Nationaal Herbarium Nederland, Universiteit Leiden branch 730 pp., 133 figures, 18 distribution maps. A CD-ROM with an illustrated digital key is added. 2005 — ISBN 90-71236-61-7 Price: EUR 90.00

THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN SPECIES OF FICUS

The pantropical genus Ficus comprises c. 735 species, of which 367 occur in Southeast Asia.

Ficus is remarkable because of its figs, or syconia, in which a complicated fertilisation takes place by wasps belonging to the family Agaonidae. This relation probably was established more than 90 millions years ago, and since then co-evolution has taken place. In Ficus we find terrestrial shrubs and trees, hemi-epiphytic plants, creeping shrubs and even rheophytic shrubs. Nearly 100 species are climbers.

Figs form an important part of the tropical rainforest and they are a source of food for many animals, included Orang Utan, bats, other arboreal and terrestrial mammals (like man!), reptiles and fishes, and many birds. Therefore the study of rainforest ecology is impossible without the study of figs. Every student of rainforest ecology should have this volume at hand! The introductory pages, 69 in total, give general information on, e.g. ecology, anatomy, morphology, inflorescences, pollen morphology, pollination, dispersal, uses, and spot characters for help in identification. For easy identification – if that is at all possible in a large and complicated group like Ficus – a digital key with many illustrations is added in the LUCID – PHOENIX program.

This volume of Flora Malesiana, written by world authorities on the systematics of Moraceae, is the only comprehensive treatment of this important rainforest genus in Southeast Asia.

[Top of this page] [Catalogue of publications] [NHN]

Last modified juli 21, 2005 by P. Hovenkamp