 The dinner-plate fig,
(Ficus dammaropsis, formerly known as Dammaropsis kingiana), is the most
striking and popular plant in our Park. Its leaves can measure 24 inches wide and 36
inches long, ranking them among the largest in the flowering plant kingdom The leaves of
this spectacular small tree are used by the indigenous people of New Guinea for wrapping
pork and for lining their cooking ovens. Its bark is used in making string and head
coverings. The fruit of the dinner-plate fig is as large as a softball. These fruits do not
develop in our area because the wasp necessary for pollination (Ceratosolen abnormis)
has not been introduced here.
the gall wasp connection |
The dinner-plate fig,
(Ficus dammaropsis, formerly known as Dammaropsis kingiana), is the most
striking and popular plant in our Park. Its leaves can measure 24 inches wide and 36
inches long, ranking them among the largest in the flowering plant kingdom The leaves of
this spectacular small tree are used by the indigenous people of New Guinea for wrapping
pork and for lining their cooking ovens. Its bark is used in making string and head
coverings.
