Cluster fig

Cluster fig (Ficus racemosa), also called Indian fig or goolar, is a tree of the mulberry family (Moraceae), 10–20 m tall with grey bark and white latex throughout. Leaves are alternate, ovate or elliptic with entire margins and prominent veins and a slightly hairy underside. Notably the fruit clusters (actually syconia, with the flowers borne inside) grow in bunches directly on the trunk and old branches, spherical, 2–3 cm across, turning red when ripe; each cluster is pollinated by a specialised fig wasp. The species ranges widely from South and Southeast Asia to southern China and northern Australia, favouring moist riverbanks and alluvial soils.

Cluster figs feature in Vietnamese meals: unripe figs are eaten raw, in salads or pickled, and ripe figs are eaten fresh; young leaves and unripe figs are cooked in soup with meat or fish. In folk medicine ripe figs are laxative, while unripe figs and leaves treat diarrhoea and dysentery; the bark is used to stop bleeding and support diabetes care; the latex is traditionally used as birdlime. A light-demanding tree, it grows by villages and ponds throughout Vietnam and is a popular ornamental and bonsai subject (sung bonsai). The ripe fruit feeds many birds and mammals, supporting biodiversity.