Chinese banyan (Ficus microcarpa)

Kimeng or Chinese banyan (Ficus microcarpa) is a species of plant in Moraceae, a tropical tree, large trunk and strong wood, wide canopy like an umbrella, aerial roots to the ground to grow into a trunk, bright round fruit, widely planted as shade trees and bonsai.

F. microcarpa has a height of up to 76 meters, horizontal branching, smooth, light gray bark and many long aerial roots that touch the ground to form new tree trunks that remain connected to the main tree.

Leaves oblong, 5-6 cm long, blunt or sharp tip, thickened edge, a bone in the middle and several sideways veins. The upper surface is dark green and shiny, the lower surface is lighter and the stalk is short.

The fruit is about 1 cm in size and is oval in shape with a slightly sharp base. The surface has raised white spots, light green when young, reddish white when ripe and black to dry out.

The Chinese banyan as a tropical and subtropical species requires a warm and humid climate in rainforests, river banks, beaches, swamps and mangroves. In cities it grows wild in cracks, walls, buildings and other masonry elements. This species is tolerant of soil moisture and urban pollutants.

Kimeng is widely used as a shade tree in gardens or monumental areas and as an object of experimentation by bonsai hobbyists. The bark, aerial roots and dried leaves are used to fight pain and fever, flu, malaria, bronchitis and rheumatism.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Moraceae
Genus: Ficus
Species: Ficus microcarpa
Varieties: Ficus microcarpa var. hillii, Ficus microcarpa var. latifolia, Ficus microcarpa var. microcarpa, Ficus microcarpa var. saffordii

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SPECIES HEAD TO HEAD - The genus frangipani trees ( Plumeria Tourn. ex L.) has only 18 officially recorded species and two very similar species, frangipani ( Plumeria rubra L.) and white frangipani ( Plumeria obtusa L.). Both have the same habitus, flowers and fruits and are difficult to distinguish. The leaves of both species have slightly different shapes. Therefore, the leaves are very important to distinguish the two species, especially the shape of the tip. P. rubra has simple, lanceolate leaves with acute tips. P. obtusa has simple, elliptic leaves with rounded tips. By Aryo Bandoro Founder of Dlium.com . You can follow him on X: @Abandoro . Read more: Plumeria rubra Plumeria obtusa

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