In the wild this is a large banyan tree but in SE Australia it is generally grown as a tub plant with variegated leaves; occasionally as a street tree in warmer districts. Branches slightly pendulous to distinctly willowy and pendent. Leaves appearing to be in pairs, 3-10 cm long, 3-5 cm wide, margins slightly wavy and irregular; apex often forming a pronounced elongated drip tip; vein pairs 6-13. Leaf stalk mostly less than 2.5 cm long. Figs paired, dark red, more or less stalkless. [F. nitida Thunb., although in horticulture this name may sometimes refer to F. microcarpa var. microcarpa]
India, China, SE Asia, N Australia
Leaves with long pointed drip tip; branches generally pendulous.
NSW: Sydney (Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, tree next to kiosk). A range of cultivars is offered including those listed under the Cultivar tab.
Source: (1997). Moraceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 2. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 1. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
PBR App. No. 93/031. Sport of the species discovered by Mr B. T. Wood of Woodds Foliage Inc., Florida, USA, characterised by the tightly curled leaves, deeply v-shaped in section. ['Curly Ben']
Narrow trunk, slender weeping branches, leaves narrower and thinner than the species and with a more pronounced drip tip.
Often used as a tub plant.
Origin unknown.
PBR App. No. 92/108. Sport of 'Exotica' with more compact habit, undulate leaves, variegation originating from the midrib.
Leaves variegated. The difference between this and 'Variegata' is not clear. ['Starlite']
Leaves with creamy white variegations, slightly smaller than the typical plant.
