Ficus stricta (HT 2013 207)

Reference ID HT 2013-207	Scientific name: Ficus stricta Family name: Moraceae Girth: 5.07 m @ 1.3 m height Height: 25.1 m	Location Pulau Ubin, along Jalan Noordin, nearer to road junction (within forest)
⚠️ Please note that this Heritage Tree is in a forested area.

Ficus stricta is lowland rainforest fig species that can reach up to 40 m in height. It has a wide, spreading crown, supported by aerial roots, and grey, smooth bark. Its leaves are smooth and leathery, ranging from elliptic, oblong to oval-shaped, each measuring up to 8- 14 cm long and 3.5 - 6 cm wide. Its smooth figs are borne along the axils in pairs, sometimes solitary, and turns from yellow, to orange, to dark red or pink to purple upon maturity. Oriental Pied Hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris) were seen feeding on the figs.

This rare strangler fig species was recorded as native to Singapore in 2012, and the first specimen described in Singapore was discovered in Changi. It was only known in Changi and Pulau Ubin and it had previously been botanically uncollected and overlooked, and thus was a new record for Singapore. The species can also be found in Southern China, Myanmar, Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, and Java.

For more information on this species, please refer to NParks' Flora & Fauna Web profile here.

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📷: Brendon Phuah