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Species library › Ficus › Ficus retusa
Other Well documented

Ficus retusa

True Ficus retusa is an evergreen fig tree of the lowland forests of Borneo, Java and Peninsular Malaysia, with obovate leaves usually 10–20 cm long. The name is widely misapplied: most 'Ficus retusa' bonsai and houseplants are actually Ficus microcarpa, which has smaller leaves. Grow it as a warm, bright tropical fig that likes steady moisture.

Ficus retusa
Photo: Naturalis Biodiversity Center, CC0, 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 Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Lowland forest and forest margins, including hill dipterocarp forest on red clay ridges. Like many figs it can begin life as an epiphyte: one Bornean record was rooted 4 m up a host tree, later sending roots to the ground. It develops into a rounded, broad-headed shrub or tree up to about 10 m.

Recorded elevations are 50–550 m, median 161 m (4 records), so it is a lowland species.

BorneoJavaPeninsular 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

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

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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 CC0 licence, unmodified.