Scientific name: Ficus adhatodifolia Schott

Family: Moraceae

Origin: Brazil

Popular names: gameleira, fig tree, mata-pau and fig.

Natural occurrence: All regions of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Central America, among other regions of the planet.

Characteristics: large tree, between 10 and 20 meters high, usually with a very wide crown and thick trunk, with aerial roots. It is also known as "mata-pau", because it can grow next to an already formed tree, like an epiphyte and, over time, it competes with the host, being able to kill it, becoming an autonomous tree.

Uses: due to its soft and easy-to-work wood, it is used to make troughs (a kind of basin), hence one of its popular names: gameleira. Fig tree bark has pharmacological potential, as laticifers, non-articulated branched types, single crystals, gelatinous fibers and brachiesclereids are found in them.

See all tree and shrub species mapped on Bahiana