Ficus cauta
Description
Tree up to 15 m tall.
Branchlets pale brown to yellowish.
internal hairs absent.
Leaves distichous;
stipules amplexicaul, 0.5-1.5 cm long, glabrous or (minutely) puberulous or only ciliolate, caducous.
Morphology
This species is distinct by its glabrous and smooth plant parts and the presence of only one waxy gland per lamina, a feature it has in common with many species of sect. Palaeomorphe. In these features F. cauta does not match the other species of sect. Sycidium in which it was ranked by Corner (1960). Although it was not possible to establish whether the staminate flowers contain pistillodes or pistils, on the basis of the material available for the present version of the Flora Malesiana treatment, a transfer of F. cauta to sect. Palaeomorphe appears to be justified. The habit, the features of the leaf, and the dimensions of the figs, suggest a position near F. tinctoria. It can be distinguished from F. tinctoria and allied species (see p. 264) by the long basal lateral veins, 1/3-1/2 the length of the lamina, whereas up to 1/3 in the other four species.