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Species library › Ficus › Ficus nymphaeifolia
Other Partly documented

Ficus nymphaeifolia

A strangler fig of lowland tropical America that starts life as an epiphyte on a host tree and grows into a tree up to 35 m tall. Its name means water-lily-leaved, after its large rounded leaves. Indoors it is grown as a juvenile foliage plant and wants the warm, bright, humid conditions of a lowland forest canopy.

Ficus nymphaeifolia
Photo: Poyt448, Peter Woodard, 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 on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

It grows in coastal plains, savanna and rainforest, including gallery forest and forest remnants in pasture. Seeds germinate in the crowns of host trees. The roots grow down to the ground and eventually enclose the host. Colombian records come from natural forest remnants, wooded pasture and tall secondary vegetation.

It is a lowland species. The GBIF records sampled lie between near sea level and about 210 m. No published elevation limit was found.

Central AmericaNorthern South AmericaLesser AntillesTrinidad and TobagoBoliviaBrazil

🔒 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.