ABSTRACT
Ficus (Moraceae) is one of the largest genera in the plant kingdom. Index Kewensis lists about 1800 spp., but Corner 4 estimated the number of species to be only 900. Its circumglobal distribution is pantropical. It consists of trees, shrubs, and vines. Most of these are evergreen, but in the north, especially where the distribution area exceeds the bounds of the tropics, as in the heights of the mountain slopes of the Middle East, the indigenous species are deciduous. Such is the common fig (Ficus carica L.) and its relatives.
