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Species library › Ficus › Ficus longifolia
Other Well documented

Ficus longifolia

narrow leaf fig

A South American banyan fig (section Urostigma) that starts life as a hemiepiphyte on another tree and becomes a tree up to 20–40 m tall, from Colombia and Venezuela to Bolivia and south-eastern Brazil. It grows in lowland moist forest and also reaches drier forest in north-eastern Brazil. Beware: the narrow-leaved fig sold as 'Ficus longifolia' in the houseplant trade is usually Ficus binnendijkii 'Alii', an Asian plant; the care below suits both, but the wild data apply only to the true species.

Ficus longifolia
Photo: Vinayaraj, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

Lowland terra-firme and open moist forest in Amazonia and the Atlantic Forest, and also dry forest and caatinga margins in north-eastern Brazil. Herbarium labels describe hemiepiphytic shrubs as well as trees of 5–40 m with milky latex and leathery leaves.

Herbarium records run from near sea level to about 1,500 m, mostly below 200 m.

BrazilColombiaVenezuelaGuyanaFrench GuianaPeruBolivia

🔒 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

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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 3.0 licence, unmodified.