Ficus parietalis Blume, Bijdr. (1825)

Latin for 'like a brick-wall', referring to the tertiary venation of the leaves.

Synonyms
Ficus cerasiformis Desf.
Ficus concentrica Hassk. ex Miq.
Ficus grandifolia Wall. ex Miq.
Ficus junghuhniana Miq.
Ficus parietalis var. angustifolia Miq.
Ficus parietalis var. ovalis Blume
Ficus parietalis var. rufipila (Miq.) Miq.
Ficus parietalis var. tabing (Miq.) Miq.
Ficus phlebophylla Miq.
Ficus rufipila Miq.
Ficus tabing Miq.

Diagnostics
Understorey tree (strangler) up to 12 m tall and 35 cm dbh. Stem with white sap. Stipules ca. 6 mm long, hairy. Leaves alternate, simple, tripli-veined, venation very pronounced, hairy below. Fruits ca. 13 mm diameter, yellow-orange-red, globose figs placed along the twigs.

Description
Dioecious climber. Twigs yellowish, angled, youngest reddish brown hairy. Stipules lanceolate, c. 0.5 cm long, reddish brown hairy, caducous. Leaves glabrous above, rough hairy below; oblong or elliptic, 9-28 x 3.8-10 cm, base cuneate, margin entire, plane, apex acuminate, acumen 1 cm long or more; midrib sunken above; lateral veins 4-5 pairs, steeply ascending, raised below, sunken above, basal pair reaching more than 1/2 the length of the blade; intercostal venation scalariform, raised below, faint above; petiole 0.5-1.5 cm long, sparsely hairy. Syconia solitary, axillary, ripening orange, rough hairy, globose, 0.7-1.3 cm diameter, without basal bracts; peduncle 1-1.5 cm long. [from Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak]

Ecology
In disturbed to undisturbed (open) mixed dipterocarp, peat swamp forests, and sub-montane forests up to 1500 m altitude. Usually along rivers and streams on sandy soils.

Uses
The fruits are edible. A decoction of the roots is used to treat stomach-ache.

Distribution
Indo-China, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Philippines, Moluccas.

Local names
Borneo: Buah punok.
Indonesia: pelas kebo, seprah (Javanese).
Malaysia: ara kesinai, ara landang puteh, sepedeh (Peninsular).
Thailand: ma hai (Chiang Mai), maduea khon (Nakhon Si Thammarat).