Broad Leafed Fig (Ficus Auriculata / Ficus Roxburghii)
This small tree with its attractive spreading crowns is cultivated as an ornamental tree in Singapore. Native to the Eastern Himalays and Burma, its large figs are edible. The leaves of this fig tree is very large (up to 30 c or more in length & width), fan shaped or broadly ovate. The base of each leaf is round or heart shaped and its margin is bluntly toothed. Young leaves are red or pink before gradually becoming a dull green. Figs are very large, from 3 cm - 5 cm wide, pear shaped with flattened apices & prominent ostioles surrounded by protruding bracts. The figs grow from long sturdy talks on stout leafless twigs arising from the lower parts of the main trunk. They are a brownish green and when ripe, becomes brownish red or red. The figs are sometimes made into a jam. The leaves may be boiled to make a fragrance fig tea.