Scientific Name : Ficus microcarpa L.f. 'Golden Leaves'
Common Name : Golden Leaves
Chinese Name : 黃金榕, 黃榕
Family : MORACEAE
Local distribution status : Exotic species
| Origin | Ficus microcarpa (Chinese Banyan) is native to Southern China, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Pacific Islands, Eastern Australia and the Ryukyu Islands. |
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| Meanings of names | The generic name Ficus referring to the emblematic fruit type of this genus. The specific epithet microcarpa means small-fruited. The cultivator epithet ‘Golden Leaves’ describes its golden-green foliage which are a cultivated characteristic distinct from the wild Ficus microcarpa (Chinese Banyan). |
| Vitality | Inheriting the vigour from Chinese Banyan, Golden Leaves also shows a strong resilience to dynamic environments. It can tolerate strong wind, salt, drought and pollutants, hence considered as a great alternative for roadsides and parks. |
| Application | As an eminent ornamental species, Golden Leaves is valued for its versatility. It can be grown either in solitary or mix-planting. In small parks and gardens, it is always planted in parks as a surrogate of Chinese Banyan due to its relatively willowy tree form and evident golden foliage. Since the tree is hardy to prune, it is always shaped into a spherical appearance, serving as topiaries and hedges. The tree with this character, however, is a double-edged sword and requires a heavy pruning practice for maintaining a decent shape. |
| Growing habit | Evergreen tree or shrub. |
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| Height | To 12 m. |
| Root | Aerial roots hanging down from old branches, eventually lignified after reaching the ground. |
| Stem | Bark smooth, light grey, lenticellate. Branchlets pale red, with leaf scars. |
| Leaves | Simple leaves alternate. Blade leathery, glabrous, elliptic, juvenile leaves more golden, ovate-elliptic or obovate, base cuneate, apex obtuse, margin entire, basal veins 3, connecting into intramarginal veins near margin. Stipules lanceolate, caducous. |
| Flower | Monecious. Hypanthodium axillary, subglobose, sessile. |
| Fruit | Syconia turning red when mature. |
| Flowering period | / |
| Fruiting period | / |
Scientific name above is based on the website of Greening, Landscape and Tree Management Section, Development Bureau:
https://www.greening.gov.hk/filemanager/greening/en/content_101/35_Ficus_microcarpa_Golden_Leaf.pdf