Ficus elastica
Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- FY-kus ee-LASS-tih-kuh
- Description
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A popular ornamental houseplant in temperate climates. Broad, shiny attractive leaves. The trunk may need training or support as it grows taller. It tolerates low light. It prefers to remain in one location and does not do well with drafts or cold temperatures. Use a damp soft cloth or sponge to clean dust off of leaves.
Overwatering can cause loss of leaves as can temperatures drops or cold drafts. It is normal for some bottom leaves to turn yellow and drop. Mealybugs, scales, and spidermites can be problematic.
Quick ID Hints:
- Leaves are VERY LARGE, glossy, elliptic, stiff and leathery
- Midrib is pale to reddish and raised underneath
Evergreen shrub or tree to 196.5', erect with spreading crown, initially epiphytic in the wild.
Prized for stiff, glossy, large leaves; fruiting is rare in interior sites; texturally heavy plant best for large spaces; people sometimes deface leaves by scratching graffiti into them; cut surfaces will exude and drip sap; in the wild, will grow to large banyan-type tree with aerial roots; variegated forms are available.
Prefers medium to high light, dry soil and medium relative humidity with a temperature of greater than 55 degrees F; pest/disease problems.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Cultivars / Varieties:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Ficus
- Species:
- elastica
- Family:
- Moraceae
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Nepal to China (W. Yunnan) and W. Malesia
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Tree
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day)
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Drainage:
- Occasionally Dry
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Fruit:
- Fruit Description:
- An oblong fig, sessile, in pairs or crowded, green with darker flecks maturing to yellow, to 1/2 x 1/4"; bract bases join to form thickened pseudostalk.
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Flowers:
- Flower Description:
- Minute, axillary, unisexual, enclosed in fleshy receptacle (fig), entered by apical orifice and pollinated by fig wasps.
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Leaves:
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Variegated
- Leaf Feel:
- Glossy
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Elliptical
- Oblong
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Description:
- Broad, shiny attractive leaves. Alternate, simple, large, elliptic to oblong, acute to mucronate, base rotund, entire, stiffly coriaceous, glossy deep green above, paler underneath with raised midrib, to 17 x 6".
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- Scarcely branched in younger specimens, stiff and sturdy.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Houseplants
- Problems:
- Problem for Cats
- Problem for Dogs
- Problem for Horses
