Ficus benjamina L. | |
Moraceae | |
Vellal, Malai Ichi | |
| Botanical Name | Ficus benjamina L. |
| Synonyms | Ficus comosa. Roxb.; Ficus nitida Thunb.; Ficus nuda (Miq.) Miq. |
| Family | Moraceae |
| Common Name | English : Benjamin’s fig, Weeping fig/ Tamil : Vellal, Malai Ichi |
| Distribution | Global: Tropical and subtropical Asia and Australia. Introduced as ornamental in tropical countries. Indian: Throughout India |
| Description | Large tree up to 30m height, epiphyte in early life, bark light grey and smooth, branches drooping with glossy leaves, aerial produced from the lateral branches. Leaves simple, petiolate, stipulate, alternate, elliptical, thick, shinny, apex acuminate, margin entire and wavy. Inflorescence hypanthium. Figs solitary or paired borne in axillary leaf branches, globose, pubescent, base attenuate in to stalk, sessile, involucre bract inconspicuous and permanent. Male, gall and female flower in same fig. Male flowers shortly pedicellate, stamen 1, filament long. Gall flowers many, narrowly spathulate, ovary ovoid, smooth and shorty. Female flower, sessile, calyx lobe 3, shortly spathulate, stigma enlarge. Achenes, ovoid - reniform, shorter than persistent style. |
| Flowering Fruiting period | July - December |
| Uses | Ornamental and indoor plant. |
| Medicinal Uses | Used for the treatment of boils and wounds. Bark juice used for treatment of liver diseases. Plant paste applied for the treatment of rheumatic headaches. |
| Tamil Name | Vellal, Malai Ichi |