Species library › Ficus › Ficus macrophylla
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Ficus macrophylla

The Moreton Bay fig is a huge evergreen strangler fig from the coastal rainforests of eastern Australia, from the Wide Bay area of Queensland south to the Shoalhaven River, with a columnar-rooted form on Lord Howe Island. Seedlings often start as epiphytes high in a host tree and end as emergent trees up to 60 m tall in full sun. At home it is grown as a bright-light houseplant or bonsai that wants warm summers and a cooler, drier, brighter winter rather than steamy tropical conditions.

At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

Subtropical, warm temperate, littoral and dry rainforest, mostly near the coast. Seeds germinate in the crowns of host trees or on rock, send roots down to the ground and may eventually strangle the host; mature trees are emergents above the canopy. It tolerates salt spray and copes with drier sites better than many figs.

Wikipedia gives sea level to about 300 m. The 67 wild records with elevation span 4–723 m with a median of 48 m, so it is essentially a lowland coastal plant.

Australia: Queensland (southeast)Australia: New South Wales (coast)Lord Howe Island (f. columnaris; Kew's Norfolk Is. region)

🔒 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.