Ficus dammaropsis

Ficus dammaropsis
Ficus dammaropsis showing large leaves and synconium (fruit)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Moraceae
Genus: Ficus
Species: F. dammaropsis
Binomial name
Ficus dammaropsis
Synonyms

Dammaropsis kingiana

A young highland breadfruit, centre, in Whangarei, New Zealand

Ficus dammaropsis, kapiak (Tok Pisin), or highland breadfruit (English), is tropical fig tree with huge pleated leaves 60 cm (24 in) across. It is native to the highlands and highlands fringe of New Guinea. It generally grows at altitudes of between 800 and 2,750 metres (2,620 and 9,020 ft); its extreme range is from sea level to 2,820 m (9,250 ft). Its fruit is edible but rarely eaten except as an emergency food (Bourke nd:4, 11). The young leaves are pickled or cooked and eaten as a vegetable with pig meat (Kambuou 1996:22).

Cultivation

With its bold tropical leaves and relative tolerance of cold, F. dammaropsis is in demand as an ornamental tree in frost-free climates.

References

  • R. Michael Bourke (nd). "Indigenous fruit in Papua New Guinea" (PDF). Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. The Australian National University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-31. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  • R.N. Kambuou (1996). "Papua New Guinea: Country Report" (PDF). FAO International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources, (Leipzig,1996). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 2008-06-19.


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