Moretin Bay Fig
October 17, 2006
Provided by: Kay Meyer
Summary authors & editors: Kay Meyer
We visited San Pedro, California to see the Pt. Fermin Lighthouse, in the background, but the huge trees in the adjacent park caught our interest. For an idea of the size of the tree pictured above, compare it to the fence on the left, which is about 4 feet (1.2 m) tall. This is a Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla). Ficus is a genus of about 800 species of woody trees, shrubs and vines. The plants in this genus range from the very small, Ficus bonsai trees, to the very big, Ficus macrophylla. Also included is the Common Fig (Ficus carica) that produces the figs in your Fig Newtons and the Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina), which is a very popular house, patio, and garden plant (at least in Southern California). Moreton Bay Fig trees in Pt. Fermin Park were planted in the 1930s. The largest Moreton Bay Fig in the United States is located in Santa Barbara, California. As of 1997, its canopy measured 176 feet (53.6 m) across! Photo taken on April 8, 2006.
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