The Port Jackson, or Rusty Fig, is yet another handsome Australian native fig, common in eastern Australia, from near the NSW/Victorian border in the south, to the very tip of Cape York in far north Queensland. 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 plants). Port Jackson Fig, as the name suggests, can be seen on many rocky headlands of Sydney Harbour. It commonly occurs on the margins of rainforests, in vine thickets and in riverine vegetation. In appearance, it’s not unlike a smaller version of the Moreton Bay Fig, Ficus macrophylla and, like the Moreton Bay Fig, is not only popular for planting in urban parks and gardens, but in miniature, as a bonsai plant. Most fig species are pollinated by just one species of fig wasp. In this case, the Port Jackson Fig is pollinated by Pleistodontes imperialis. 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 Moraceae, 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 birds, including the Satin Bowerbird, Regent Bowerbird, Australian King Parrot, Australasian Figbird, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Olive-backed Oriole, Topknot Pigeon, Galahs and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, feed on the fruit of Port Jackson Figs. Information and distribution map: Dale J. Dixon, B. R. Jackes and L. M. Bielig, 2001, Figuring out the figs: the Ficus obliqua-Ficus rubiginosa 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 .