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12(1): Medicinal and poisonous plants 1

Ficus nasuta Summerh.

This article should be read together with the article on the genus: Ficus in the Handbook volume indicated above in this database.

Hooker's Icon. Pl.: t. 3189 (1933).

New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

In Papua New Guinea, the bark latex is drunk by patients with asthma or other respiratory problems. Leaves eaten with salt are believed to increase the fertility of women.

A large climber; leaves arranged spirally, ovate to suborbicular, 8-15 cm x 6-13.5 cm, base cordate to rounded, apex shortly acuminate, margin entire, with 4-5(-6) pairs of lateral veins, main veins appressed hairy below; figs axillary, depressed globose to subpyriform, to 35 mm in diameter, minutely brown velutinate, ripening dingy purple; flowers sessile. Ficus nasuta is locally common in lowland to montane forest, up to 1600 m altitude.

[281] Corner, E.J.H., 1965. Check-list of Ficus in Asia and Australia. Gardens' Bulletin, Singapore 21: 1-186.
[609] Holdsworth, D.K. & Mahana, P., 1983. Traditional medicinal plants of the Huon Peninsula, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. International Journal of Crude Drug Research 21: 121-133.
[611] Holdsworth, D.K. & Sakulas, H., 1986. Medicinal plants of the Morobe Province. Part II. The Aseki Valley. International Journal of Crude Drug Research 24: 31-40.

J.P. Rojo, F.C. Pitargue & M.S.M. Sosef

Rojo, J.P., Pitargue, F.C. & Sosef, M.S.M., 1999. Ficus nasuta Summerh.. In: de Padua, L.S., Bunyapraphatsara, N. and Lemmens, R.H.M.J. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12(1): Medicinal and poisonous plants 1. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. Database record: prota4u.org/prosea