Species · genus Ficus · Moraceae

False Banyan

Ficus altissima Blume

Also known as: Council Tree · Lofty Fig · Counciltree · Mountain Fig

Growth habit

tree

Native range

Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China South-Central, China Southeast, East Himalaya, Hainan, India, Jawa, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicobar Is., Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam

Reference · F. altissima

Cultivars of F. altissima

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under F. altissima yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Ficus altissima is a large fig tree native to the warm, seasonally moist forests of tropical and subtropical Asia, where it often begins life as an epiphyte before establishing as a canopy tree. Give it bright indirect light and water when the top inch or two of mix has dried, letting it approach dryness between waterings rather than staying wet, as Ficus roots resent sitting soggy. It tolerates ordinary indoor humidity.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 7-14d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 14 days

Humidity

Medium

Temperature

16–29 °C

Soil mix

Well-draining, peat-based potting mix

Propagation

Stem cuttings or air layering

Fertilizing

Balanced liquid feed monthly in the growing season

Growth rate

Moderate

Flowering

Does not flower indoors

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs

Fig / rubber plant — irritant latex (ficin); GI upset, dermatitis. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 7-14d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ASPCA

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow False Banyan yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.