The Giving Garden – Rethinking the food-medicine continuum in the urban sprawl

dec 30, 2024

Crop of the month: Broom Cluster Figs

Figs have a long history of use and cultivation across multiple cultures. Today the most widely grown fig species is the common Mediterranean fig (Ficus carica), with the global orchard spanning 286 197 hectares and producing 1.3 million tonnes of fruit per annum (Ana et al., 2022). South Africa is home to many indigenous fig species distributed across the country’s biomes. Although many of these species have edible fruits, and a variety of other uses, few are used in the contemporary food system. This month we focus on the broom cluster fig (Ficus sur).

A large specimen in Kabwe, Zambia. Photo by D BrianWilson

Broom cluster figs have an exceptionally wide geographical range, from the Western Cape north to the non-arid sections of the continent extending to North Africa. These evergreen trees can reach heights of 35m and form a large, spreading crown. The species is typically found in frost-free riparian zones and smaller waterways, but does spread into dry woodlands in the more humid sections of its geographical range. As a garden specimen, the species is fast growing, and care should be taken when deciding on placement. As with all large figs, the root systems of these relatively large trees can be aggressive and will lift paving and grow into building foundations.

What most people regard as fig fruits are not truly a fruit in the botanical sense. They are rather a type of infructescence known as a syconium, a fleshy, hollow receptacle which contains many individual flowers that will each develop into a fruit. These internal flowers, which are only accessible by a small hole at the end of the syconium, are pollinated by wasps. A queen wasp will enter the internal chamber of the syconium, pollinating the flowers as she makes her way to the internal chamber. Here she will deposit her fertilised eggs and die, before being digested by the fig. The eggs will hatch over time and the offspring will mate. Following mating, the wingless males will begin to carve out an exit tunnel through which the winged females, now carrying pollen from their host, will exit to continue the life cycle of the wasp in other syconia. In South Africa, the wasp pollinator is Ceratosolen capensis (van Noort and Rasplus2024).

The syconia of the broom cluster fig form on branchlets which emerge from the stem and occasionally the tree’s roots. These branchlets are typically 0.5m in length, but can reach lengths of 1.5m. Out of the fruiting season, the clusters of branchlets strongly resemble brooms, from which the species gets its common name. In South Africa, figs are produced from September to March. The species is incredibly productive and figs are produced in large, dense clusters. These are an important food source for many frugivores including birds, bats, and primates who disperse seeds in their environment.

Broom cluster figs at the University of Pretoria’s Future Africa campus.

Photo by Richard Hay

The species has a number of historical uses. The wood is soft and white and has been used to make drums, mortars for grinding grains, and brake blocks for ox wagons (Hankey, 2003). The inner bark is fibrous and used to make soft ropes (Hankey, 2003). The figs of Ficus sur can be eaten fresh once ripened, or harvested unripened and made into preserves such as jam, and are used extensively by the Department of Consumer and Food Sciences here at the University of Pretoria. This easy-growing tree makes a productive addition to any edible landscape, as well as an attractive landscaper feature.

 Richard Hay

Curator: Future Africa Indigenous and Orphan Crops Collection, Manie van der Schijff Botanical Garden, University of Pretoria

BotSoc Conservation Project Coordinator, Northern Region

richard.hay@up.ac.za or north@botanicalsociety.org.za

Jason Sampson

Head Curator: Manie van der Schijff Botanical Garden, University of Pretoria

jason.sampson@up.ac.za

References:

Ana, B., Sorina, P., Dascălu, I. and Alina, I.O., 2022. An overview on the evolution of worldwide fig production and harvested area.

Hankey, A. 2003. PlantzAfrica: Ficus sur. URL: https://pza.sanbi.org/ficus-sur 

 van Noort, S. & Rasplus, JY. 2024. Figweb: figs and fig wasps of the world. URL: https://www.figweb.org/Ficus/Subgenus_Sycomorus/Section_Sycomorus/Subsection_Sycomorus/Ficus_sur.htm