Creeping Fig (Ficus Pumila)
This creeping climber can be spotted all over Singapore, planted as an ornamental to cover bare concrete walls and supporting structures of overhead bridges. It was introduced from Taiwan. This fig is equally popular among horticulturist as an ornamental cover-up in many other countries. This fig has two form of leaves. When creeping on the wall, the fig leaves tend to be small (from 2 ~3.5 cm) and are heart shaped. However, if left to grown un-pruned, the leaves on its overhanging branches may reach up to 8 cm. A characteristic of the leaves is its dry leathery feel, very short stalk and asymmetrical heart-shaped base. The figs are very large, 6~9 cm long and are characteriscally bell-shaped, with flat apices. The greyish-green figs ripen a dark purple, at which time the apices becomes rounded and the ostioles are wide open. The ripe figs of this creeper are valued as a Chinese medicinal herb.