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Species library › Ficus › Ficus maclellandii
Other Partly documented

Ficus maclellandii

Alii fig

An evergreen fig from the monsoon forests of north-east India, Indochina and Yunnan, best known as the 'Alii' fig houseplant with long, narrow, drooping leaves. Its leaves are dimorphic: narrow on lower sterile branches and broader higher up. It likes bright light, warmth and steady conditions, and drops leaves when moved or chilled.

Ficus maclellandii
Photo: Luca Bove, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

A forest tree of the monsoon hills of mainland Southeast Asia. Published habitat detail is thin; recorded sites are mostly in hill forest around 700 m. Young plants grow under partial canopy, while mature crowns reach the light.

Recorded at 95–950 m, with a median of 700 m (10 records).

North-east India (Assam)Eastern HimalayaBangladeshMyanmarThailandLaosCambodiaVietnamSouthern China (Yunnan)Peninsular Malaysia

🔒 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 4.0 licence, unmodified.