Native Trees

Moreton Bay fig — Ficus macrophylla

Ficus macrophylla

Food for native birds Host plant for butterflies and insects Shelter for wildlife Resilient garden plant

$7.00

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Plant profile

At a glance

The essentials for finding the right garden position.

Mature size: Height: 15–30 m · Width: 15–30 m
Light: Full sun, Part shade
Water: Moist
Soil: Sandy, Loamy
Drainage: Free-draining
Vegetation type: Coastal, Rainforest
Plant lifespan: Long-lived perennial
Plant form: Trees

Plant ratings

A quick guide to this plant’s value for wildlife and the garden.

Bird food value
Host plant value
Pollinator value
Shelter & habitat value
Flower display
Garden resilience

About this plant

Moreton Bay fig brings the scale and character of the local landscape into a larger garden setting. Small flowers are enclosed inside large figs that ripen purple-brown and provide abundant wildlife food. Use it where its canopy can become part of a layered garden and provide a lasting sense of place.

Image credits:
Mature image: User DO'Neil on en.wikipedia via Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 3.0
Feature image: Eug via Wikimedia Commons — CC SA 1.0

More plant details

Garden uses: Habitat tree, shade or canopy planting, restoration-style garden and layered wildlife corridor; especially suited to sites reflecting Coastal, Rainforest.
Wildlife value: Ficus macrophylla has some pollinator value, but its flowers are less abundant, less accessible or not a major garden food resource. Ficus macrophylla produces substantial fleshy fruit and/or forms a major foraging plant for fruit-eating birds. Ficus macrophylla develops substantial, persistent structure that can provide excellent refuge, nesting or screening habitat. Its figs provide breeding sites for the pollinating fig wasp Pleistodontes froggatti, whose larvae develop inside them. The leaves are also a recorded food source for Australian Crow butterfly caterpillars (Euploea corinna).
Flowering and fruiting: Small flowers are enclosed inside large figs that ripen purple-brown and provide abundant wildlife food.
Growth habit: Woody tree contributing canopy or mid-storey structure; indicative mature size 15–30 m × 15–30 m.
Cautions: An enormous tree with powerful buttress and surface roots; only for very large sites.