How to Identify Fig Trees

There are two species of fig trees native to the United States---the Florida strangler fig and the shortleaf fig. Other species of figs introduced to this country now grow in the warmer portion, including the common fig and the fiddle leaf fig. Use the specific characteristics of these fig trees to recognize them if you are not all that familiar with the species.

Instructions

1. Identify the Florida strangler fig by the odd way it starts its life. The seeds develop in a crack in another tree and germinate into a parasitic plant that uses air roots to absorb nutrients from the atmosphere as well as from its host. As the tree grows, it forms roots that reach all the way down to the ground. As the roots take hold, the Florida strangler tree actually grows around the original tree into a "compound" tree made up of the two species.

2. Check a suspected strangler fig tree for evergreen and oblong leaves between 2 and 5 inches long and up to 3 inches wide, with pointed tips and wedge-shaped bases. The leaves have a leathery texture and from above are greenish-yellow. The fruit ranges from yellow to a red-purple mix and is fleshy, only half an inch long.

3. Differentiate the shortleaf fig from the Florida strangler fig by its leaves and fruit. Although it develops from a host tree in a similar fashion, the leaves are much broader and have a base shaped like a heart. The fruit is an inch long and the flowers and stems develop on longer stems than those of the strangler fig, which are never longer than a quarter inch.

4. Recognize the common fig by its size and its leaves. The common fig is often a shrub, but when it is a tree does not exceed 30 feet in height. Observe the leaves closely and you will notice they resemble a human hand, with five separate lobes that look like the outline of fingers. They are 4 to 8 inches long. In some instances, there will be just three lobes, and the leaf will look like a fleur de lis that lacks pointy ends.

5. Look for the fiddle leaf fig's violin-shaped leaves, which give it its name. This fig tree grows as high as 30 feet outside in warm climates but is also a common houseplant. The leaves have obvious white veins.

References

• Florida Forest Trees: University of Florida
• "A Guide to Field Identification: Trees of North America;" C. Frank Brockman;1986