Ficus Macrophylla - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

The Moreton Bay fig was described by French botanist René Louiche Desfontaines. Its specific epithet macrophylla is derived from the Ancient Greek makro "large" and phyllon "leaf", and refers to the size of the leaves. Australian botanist Dale J. Dixon recognised two forms: Ficus macrophylla f. macrophylla, a free-standing tree which is endemic to mainland Australia and Ficus macrophylla f. columnaris, a hemiepiphyte without a distinct main trunk, which is endemic to Lord Howe Island.

The generally used common name is Moreton Bay Fig, after Moreton Bay in southern Queensland, although it is found elsewhere. The term has also been mistakenly generalised to other fig species in Australia. An alternate name, Black Fig, is derived from the dark colour of the ageing bark.

With over 750 species, Ficus is one of the largest angiosperm genera. Based on morphology, English botanist E. J. H. Corner divided the genus into four subgenera; later expanded to six. In this classification, the Moreton Bay fig was placed in subseries Malvanthereae, series Malvanthereae, section Malvanthera of the subgenus Urostigma. In his reclassification of the Australian Malvanthera, Dixon altered the delimitations of the series within the section, but left this species in series Malvanthereae.

In 2005, Cornelis Berg completed Corner's treatment of the Moraceae for the Flora Malesiana; the completion of that work had been delayed since 1972 as a result of disagreements between Corner and C. J. J. G. van Steenis, editor of the Flora Malesiana. Berg combined sections Stilpnophyllum and Malvanthera into an expanded section Stilpnophyllum. This left the Moreton Bay fig in subsection Malvanthera, section Stilpnophyllum.

Based on DNA sequences from the nuclear ribosomal internal and external transcribed spacers, Nina Rønsted and colleagues rejected previous subdivisions of the Malvanthera. Instead, they divided section Malvanthera into three subsections—Malvantherae, Platypodeae and Hesperidiiformes. In this system, the Moreton Bay fig is in the new subsection Malvantherae, along with F. pleurocarpa. The Malvantherae appear to be an early offshoot and basal to the group. Both species are native to Australia, with subspecies columnaris of macrophylla having colonised Lord Howe Island. Ronsted and colleagues suggest this last form might be the most ancient of the three taxa. The section Malvanthera itself is thought to have evolved 41 million years ago and radiated from 35 million years ago.