Species library › Ficus › Ficus albipila
Other Well documented

Ficus albipila

abbey tree

A large rainforest fig, reaching about 35 m, found from India and Thailand through Malesia to New Guinea and north-eastern Queensland. In Australia it is typical of the gallery forest along the creeks and rivers of Cape York Peninsula. It is not usually a strangler, and its copious white sap is reported to be strongly irritant. At home it is grown as a young tree, which needs warmth, strong light and roots that never fully dry.

Ficus albipila
Photo: Steve Fitzgerald, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Well-developed lowland and upland rainforest. On Cape York Peninsula it is a characteristic tree of the gallery forest along creeks and rivers, where the roots reach permanently moist soil even in the long dry season. Adults reach the canopy. Seedlings and saplings grow up through the shaded or dappled understorey and in gaps.

Measured records run from 5 to 1080 m, median 80 m. Queensland's rainforest flora gives near sea level to 300 m for Australia, so the higher records probably come from New Guinea or Java.

Andaman Is.IndiaJawaLesser Sunda Is.MalayaNew GuineaNicobar Is.QueenslandSumateraThailand

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

Grow Ficus albipila? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, unmodified.