Scientific/Botanical Name:
Genus: Ficus
Specie: pumila
Variety/Cultivar:
English Name:
Common Name:
creeping or climbing fig
Botanical Family:
Name in Latin: Moraceae
Name in English: Mulberry or fig family
The Plant
Origin: East Asia
Growth Habit: woody evergreen vine
Flower: not significant, rare
Blooming Period:
Leaf: simple, heart-shaped, small when young; changes to larger, 2-4in long, oblong and leathery form when mature
Usage:
gardens and landscapes, and as houseplant
Care and Handling
Soil: amended soil
Amount of water: requires supplemental, 1-2 times per week in hot season
Nutrition: text
Special handling: part or full shade, morning sun okay. Maintenance: low; can be a nuisance to control if it overruns allotted space; can be difficult to remove from walls; cutting back will rejuvenate juvenile leaf form .
Special feature/remarks:
The fruit of Ficus pumila var. awkeotsang is used in cuisine. In Taiwan, its fruit is turned inside out and dried. The seeds are scraped off and a gel is extracted from their surface with water and allowed to set and form a jelly known in Taiwan as aiyu jelly (or aiyuzi 愛玉子) and in Singapore as ice jelly (文頭雪).