The Port Jackson, or Rusty Fig, is yet another handsome Australian native fig, common in eastern , from near the NSW/Victorian border in the south, to the very tip of Cape York in far north . This fig can grow on its own roots, but often starts life as a lithophyte (growing on rock) or as a hemiparasite (growing on other ). Port Jackson Fig, as the name suggests, can be seen on many rocky headlands of Harbour. It commonly occurs on the margins of , in vine thickets and in riverine vegetation. In appearance, it’s not unlike a smaller version of the Moreton Bay Fig, macrophylla and, like the Moreton Bay Fig, is not only popular for planting in urban parks and gardens, but in miniature, as a bonsai .

Most fig are pollinated by just one species of fig . In this case, the Port Jackson Fig is pollinated by .

There are perhaps 750 species of Ficus worldwide, including the edible fig (Ficus carica); most occur in tropical and sub-tropical regions, Typical habitat for Ficus with some species rubiginosa – on rocky sandstone headlands of Sydney Harbour. (Ficus carica, the edible fig, for example) occur in temperate parts of the world. Figs (Ficus spp.) belong to the plant family , which also includes Mulberries (Morus spp.), Breadfruit and Jackfruit (Artocarpus spp.). Think of a mulberry, and imagine it turned inside out. This might perhaps bear some resemblance to a fig.

Ficus rubiginosa growing on a sandstone platform adjoining mangroves. Branches of one can be seen in the foreground, a larger one at the rear.

Flying Foxes, and countless species of , including the , , Australian King , , Lewin’s Honeyeater, Olive-backed Oriole, , Galahs and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, feed on the of Port Jackson Figs.

Information and distribution map: Dale J. Dixon, B. R. Jackes and L. M. Bielig, 2001, Figuring out the figs: the - Complex (Moraceae: Urostigma sect. Malvanthera). Australian Systematic Botany 14(1) 133 – 154. Janet MacPherson, The Avicultural Society of NSW, http://www.aviculturalsocietynsw.org/_articles/figs2012.htm#.VyQv3XpJTSM Photography: Brian Atwell

Brian Atwell, Alison Downing, Kevin Downing Department of Biological Sciences