Species · genus Ficus · Moraceae

Hairy Fig

Ficus hispida L.fil.

Also known as: River Fig · Rough-leaf Fig · Soft Fig

Growth habit

tree

Native range

Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, China South-Central, China Southeast, East Himalaya, Hainan, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Northern Territory, Queensland, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Western Australia

Ficus hispida — reference photo — Netrider1964 · Public domain

Cultivars of F. hispida

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

No named cultivars catalogued under F. hispida 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.

A wild fig from Asia

Ficus hispida is a tree in the fig family, Moraceae, first described by Linnaeus's son in 1782. It belongs to a genus of enormous variety, and this particular species grows as a tree rather than the vining or epiphytic forms some Ficus take.

Source: Kew

Range across tropical Asia

This fig's native range stretches from south and southeast China through tropical Asia to northern Australia, taking in territory from the Himalayas and India to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Queensland. It is found in places such as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sri Lanka, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, New Guinea, and the Northern Territory. It grows primarily within the wet tropical biome, fitting a life suited to consistently moist, warm forest conditions.

Source: Kew

One species, two varieties

Kew recognises two accepted varieties beneath Ficus hispida, including the typical variety hispida itself and a form named var. rubra. The species has accumulated a long list of historical synonyms, among them names once placed in the genus Covellia, a reminder of how fig taxonomy has been reshuffled over time.

Source: Kew

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 7-12d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 12 days

Humidity

Medium

Temperature

16–30 °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

Fast

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.

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 7-12d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ASPCA

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Hairy Fig yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — and a clear photo of your plant are exactly what keep this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.