变叶榕 bian ye rong

Ficus langbianensis Gagnepain, p.p. (Chavalier 30696).

Shrubs or trees, 3-10 m tall. Bark grayish brown, smooth. Branchlet internodes short. Stipules narrowly triangular, ca. 8 mm. Petiole 6-10 mm; leaf blade narrowly elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, 5-12 × 1.5-4 cm, ± leathery, base cuneate, margin entire, apex obtuse to blunt; basal lateral veins 2, short, secondary veins 7-11(-15) on each side of midvein and at almost 90° to midvein. Figs axillary on normal leafy shoots, paired or solitary, globose, 1-1.2 cm in diam., tuberculate, apical pore navel-like, convex; peduncle 0.8-1.2 cm; involucral bracts ovate-triangular, base slightly connate. Male flowers: near apical pore. Gall flowers: ovary globose; style lateral, short. Female flowers: calyx lobes 3 or 4; ovary reniform; style lateral, long, thin. Achenes tuberculate. Fl. Dec-Jun.

Forests, wet areas. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangxi, S Yunnan, Zhejiang [Laos, Vietnam].

This species needs careful comparison with Ficus biglandulosa Wallich ex Steudel (1840).

The stems, leaves, and roots are used medicinally and the fibers are used for making cloth.