CleanupBot: Robot: Replacing encoded entity with character

2026-03-22T05:32:16Z

Robot: Replacing encoded entity with character

Show changes

TrinaAshby9096: Expanded article with relevant info

2026-03-15T03:35:03Z

Expanded article with relevant info

Show changes

172.70.162.145: /* External links */

2022-10-07T14:53:09Z

External links

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:23, 7 October 2022
Line 83:		Line 83:
	[[Category:Ficus\|sycomorus]]		[[Category:Ficus\|sycomorus]]
	[[Category:Flora of Africa]]		[[Category:Flora of Africa]]
			[[Category:National symbols of Egypt]]
	[[Category:Flora of Cyprus]]		[[Category:Flora of Cyprus]]
	[[Category:Flora of Lebanon]]		[[Category:Flora of Lebanon]]
Line 92:		Line 93:
	[[Category:Fruits originating in Asia]]		[[Category:Fruits originating in Asia]]
	[[Category:Garden plants of Africa]]		[[Category:Garden plants of Africa]]
			[[Category:State symbols of Eritrea]]
	[[Category:Garden plants of Asia]]		[[Category:Garden plants of Asia]]
	[[Category:Ornamental trees]]		[[Category:Ornamental trees]]
	[[Category:Fruit trees]]		[[Category:Fruit trees]]
	[[Category:Plants in the Bible]]		[[Category:Plants in the Bible]]

WikiDwarfBOT at 14:20, 12 September 2022

2022-09-12T14:20:39Z

New page

{{short description|Species of fig}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Ficus sycomorus 0003.jpg
|image_caption = Leaves and [[syconia]] of ''Ficus sycomorus''
|status = LC
|status_system = IUCN3.1
|status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). |author2=IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group |date=2019 |title=''Ficus sycomorus'' |volume=2019 |page=e.T146188430A146199148 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T146188430A146199148.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
|genus = Ficus (plant)
|parent = Ficus subg. Sycomorus
|species = sycomorus
|authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
|range_map = Zasieg ficus sycomorus distribution.png
|range_map_caption =
}}

'''''Ficus sycomorus''''', called the '''sycamore fig''' or the '''fig-mulberry''' (because the leaves resemble those of the [[mulberry]]), '''sycamore''', or '''sycomore''', is a [[ficus|fig]] species that has been cultivated since ancient times.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}

The term ''[[sycamore]]'' spelled with an A has also been used for unrelated trees: the Great Maple, ''[[Acer pseudoplatanus]]'', or plane trees, ''[[Platanus]]''. The spelling "sycomore", with an O rather than an A as the second vowel is, if used, specific to ''Ficus sycomorus''.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sycomore | title = sycomore | work = Merriam-Webster.com | access-date = 2016-10-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/sycamore | access-date = 2016-10-30 | title = sycamore | work = Collins English Dictionary }}</ref>

==Distribution==
''Ficus sycomorus'' is native to [[Africa]] south of the [[Sahel]] and north of the [[Tropic of Capricorn]], also excluding the central-west [[rainforest]] areas. It also grows naturally in [[Lebanon]]; in the southern [[Arabian Peninsula]]; in [[Cyprus]]; in very localised areas in [[Madagascar]]; and in [[Israel]], [[Palestinian territories|Palestine]] and [[Egypt]]. In its native habitat, the tree is usually found in rich soils along rivers and in mixed woodlands.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}

==Description==
''Ficus sycomorus'' grows to 20 m tall and has a considerable spread, with a dense round crown of spreading branches. The [[leaf|leaves]] are heart-shaped with a round apex, 14 cm long by 10 cm wide, and arranged spirally around the twig. They are dark green above and lighter with prominent yellow veins below, and both surfaces are rough to the touch. The petiole is 0.5–3 cm long and pubescent. The [[fruit]] is a large edible fig, 2–3 cm in diameter, ripening from buff-green to yellow or red. They are borne in thick clusters on long branchlets or the leaf axil. Flowering and fruiting occurs year-round, peaking from July to December. The [[Bark (botany)|bark]] is green-yellow to orange and exfoliates in papery strips to reveal the yellow inner bark. Like all other figs, it contains a [[latex]].

==Cultivation==
According to [[botany|botanists]] Daniel Zohary (b. 1926) and Maria Hopf (1914–2008),{{Citation needed |date=December 2017}} the [[ancient Egypt]]ians cultivated this species "almost exclusively."{{clarify |date= February 2013}} Remains of ''F. sycomorus'' begin to appear in predynastic levels and in quantity from the start of the [[third millennium BC]]. It was the ancient Egyptian [[Tree of Life]].<ref>{{cite book| title = Death and salvation in ancient Egypt | first1 = Jan | last1 = Assmann | first2 = David | last2 = Lorton | others = translated by David Lorton | page = 171 | publisher = Cornell University Press | year = 2005 | isbn = 978-0-8014-4241-4}}</ref> Zohary and Hopf note that "the fruit and the timber, and sometimes even the twigs, are richly represented in the [[tomb]]s of the Egyptian Early, Middle and Late Kingdoms." In numerous cases the parched fruiting bodies, known as [[Syconium|sycon]]s, "bear characteristic gashing marks indicating that this art, which induces ripening, was practised in Egypt in ancient times."<ref>Daniel Zohary and Maria Hopf, ''Domestication of plants in the Old World'', third edition (Oxford: University Press, 2000), p. 165</ref>

Although this species of fig requires the presence of the [[symbiotic]] [[wasp]] ''[[Ceratosolen]] arabicus'' to reproduce sexually, and this insect is extinct in Egypt, Zohay and Hopf have no doubt that Egypt was "the principal area of sycamore fig development."{{clarify|date=February 2013}} Some of the caskets of mummies in [[Egypt]] are made from the wood of this tree. In tropical areas where the wasp is common, complex mini-ecosystems involving the wasp, nematodes,<ref name="Susoy 2016">{{cite journal |last1=Susoy |first1=Vladislav |last2=Herrmann |first2=Matthias |last3=Kanzaki |first3=Natsumi |last4=Kruger |first4=Meike |last5=Nguyen |first5=Chau N. |last6=Rödelsperger |first6=Christian |last7=Röseler |first7=Waltraud |last8=Weiler |first8=Christian |last9=Giblin-Davis |first9=Robin M. |last10=Ragsdale |first10=Erik J. |last11=Sommer |first11=Ralf J. |title=Large-scale diversification without genetic isolation in nematode symbionts of figs |journal=Science Advances |year=2016 |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=e1501031 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.1501031 |pmid=26824073 |pmc=4730855 |bibcode=2016SciA....2E1031S }}</ref><ref name="Kruger 2021">{{cite journal |last1=Kruger |first1=Meike S. |last2=Kanzaki |first2=Natsumi |last3=Giblin-Davis |first3=Robin M. |last4=Greeff |first4=Jaco M. |title=Molecular diversity and relationships of fig associated nematodes from South Africa |journal=PLOS ONE |date=10 August 2021 |volume=16 |issue=8 |pages=e0255451 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0255451 |pmid=34375357 |pmc=8354458 |bibcode=2021PLoSO..1655451K |language=en |issn=1932-6203|doi-access=free }}</ref> other parasitic wasps, and various larger predators revolve around the life cycle of the fig. The trees' random production of fruit in such environments assures its constant attendance by the insects and animals which form this ecosystem.

A study in 2015 indicated that the sycamore tree was brought to Israel by [[Philistines]] during the Iron Age, along with [[opium poppy]] and [[cumin]].<ref>{{Citation | url = https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150828112741.htm | title = Philistines introduced sycamore, cumin and opium poppy into Israel during the Iron Age | newspaper = Science daily | date = 28 August 2015 | access-date = 25 October 2015}}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | title = Nature| journal = Scientific Reports| date = 25 August 2015| volume = 5| issue = 1| page = 13308| doi = 10.1038/srep13308| last1 = Frumin| first1 = Suembikya| last2 = Maeir| first2 = Aren M.| last3 = Kolska Horwitz| first3 = Liora| last4 = Weiss| first4 = Ehud| pmid = 26304818| pmc = 4642518}}.</ref> These sycamore trees used to be numerous in western [[Beirut]], lending their name to the neighborhood of Gemmayzeh (({{lang|ar|الْجُمَّيْزَة‎}} {{transl|ar|DIN|al-Ǧummayzah}}), "sycamore fig").<ref>{{Citation|url=http://labnehandfacts.com/media/discoverlebanon/gemmayzeh-name-origins/|title=Gemmmayzeh name origins.|date=25 July 2019}}</ref> However, the trees have largely disappeared from this area.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2005/Aug-31/6628-gemmayzeh-changing-new-habits-come-to-an-old-quarter.ashx |newspaper=[[The Daily Star (Lebanon)|The Daily Star]] |accessdate=16 November 2021 |date= 31 August 2005 |title=Gemmayzeh changing: new habits come to an old quarter |first1=Jim |last1=Quilty |first2=Leila |last2=Diab |quote=... named after a sycamore tree that was once a landmark here.}}</ref>

===Gardens===
In the [[Near East]] ''F. sycomorus'' is an orchard and [[ornamental tree]] of great importance and very extensive use. It has wide-spreading branches and [[shade tree|affords shade]].

==In religion==
===Judaism and Christianity===
In the [[Bible]], the sycomore is referred to seven times in the Old Testament ([[Hebrew]] {{lang|hbo|שִׁקְמָה}} {{transl|hbo|DIN|shiḳmah}}; Strong's number 8256) and once in the New Testament ({{lang|grc|συκομoραία}} {{transl|grc|ALA-LC|sykomoraia}} or {{lang|grc|συκομορέα}} {{transl|grc|ALA-LC|sykomorea}};<ref>{{LSJ|sukomore/a|συκομορέα|ref}}.</ref> Strong's number 4809). Though it was not as common in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], the sycomore was a very popular and valuable fruit tree in [[Jericho]] and [[Canaan]].<ref name="moldenke 106 108">{{cite book |last1=Moldenke |first1=Harold N. |title= Plants of the Bible |date=1952 |publisher= Chronica Botanica Company |location= Waltham, Massachusetts USA |pages=106–108}}</ref>{{dubious|There is no clear distinction between Canaan and (biblical) Palestine. Jericho is part of both, for sure.|date=May 2018}}
:'''Hebrew Bible'''
*In the Psalms, sycomores are listed with vines as sources of food destroyed in the plagues inflicted on the Egyptians. {{bibleverse||Ps|78:47|NIV}}
**This verse implies that Ficus sycomorus could not survive in the mountainous regions of [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] and Egypt<ref name="moldenke 106 108"/> ("He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycomore trees with frost." Ps 78:47).
* King [[David]] appointed an officer to look after the olives and sycomores of the western foothills. {{bibleverse||1Chron|27:28|NIV}}
* King [[Solomon]] made [up-market] cedars as common as sycomores. {{bibleverse||1Kings|10:27|NIV}} = {{bibleverse||2Chron|1:15|NIV}}, {{bibleverse||2Chron|9:27|NIV}}
* In condemning his people's arrogance the prophet [[Isaiah]] also makes a contrast between sycomores and cedars. {{bibleverse||Isaiah|9:10|NIV}}
* The prophet [[Amos (prophet)|Amos]] refers to his secondary occupation as a dresser or tender of sycomores {{bibleverse||Amos|7:14|NIV}}; this involved slashing the fruits to induce ripening.<ref>Zohary & Hopf supra</ref>
:'''Gospels'''
* In Luke's Gospel, [[Zacchaeus]] resorted to climbing a sycomore in order to get a better view of [[Jesus]] in Jericho. {{bibleverse||Luke|19:4|NIV}}

:'''Mishnah and Gemara (Talmud)'''
* In the [[Mishnah]], in chapter 9 of tractate [[Shevi'it (Talmud)|Shevi'it]] of order Zera'im, the borders of the various districts of the Land of Israel are delineated. The [[Upper Galilee]] is defined as the area north of [[Kfar Hananya]] where the sycomore does not grow; the [[Lower Galilee]] is the area south of Kfar Hananya where the sycomore does grow.
* Tractate [[Berakhot (Talmud)|Berakhot]] of the Gemara mentions sycomore in reference to tithing, and to its subsequent appropriate blessing.
* Tractate [[ Pesachim (Talmud)|Pesachim-]] 53a:8 of the Gemara mentions sycomore in reference to identifying geographic regions, in this case a plain, to determine dates for various purposes.

===Other religions===
In [[Kikuyu people|Kikuyu Religion]], the sycomore is a sacred tree. All sacrifices to [[Ngai]] (or Murungu), the supreme creator, were performed under the tree. Whenever the mugumo tree fell, it symbolised a bad omen and rituals had to be performed by elders in the society. Some of those ceremonies carried under the Mugumo tree are still observed to date.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://mukuyu.wordpress.com/2008/11/13/origins/ |title= Gikuyu Origins |date= 13 November 2008 |access-date= 9 April 2015 |website= Mukuyu }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title= African Religions and Philosophy |last= Mbiti |first= John |publisher= Oxford University Press |year= 1990 }}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Ficus sycomorus - Leaves.jpg|Leaves
File:Ficus sycomorus - Stem with fruits.jpg|Trunk with unripe fruit
File:Sycamore fruits.jpg|Fruit and syconia
File:Sycomore in Ethiopia.jpg|In Ethiopia
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Sycamine]]
* [[Ficus vasta]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.figweb.org/Ficus/Subgenus_Sycomorus/Section_Sycomorus/Subsection_Sycomorus/Ficus_sycomorus_sycomorus.htm Figweb.org - ''Ficus sycomorus'']
*PBS ''[[Nature (TV series)|Nature]]'' documentary: ''The Queen of Trees'' (on the Sycamore fig in Kenya)
**[https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/queenoftrees/index.html pbs.org: ''The Queen of Trees'']
**[https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/php/search.php?search=search&keywords=queen&show_title=none pbs.org/wnet/nature: Sycamore fig in Kenya]
{{WestAfricanPlants|Ficus sycomorus}}
{{Commons category|position=left|Ficus sycomorus}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q750217}}

[[Category:Ficus|sycomorus]]
[[Category:Flora of Africa]]
[[Category:Flora of Cyprus]]
[[Category:Flora of Lebanon]]
[[Category:Flora of Palestine (region)]]
[[Category:Flora of the Arabian Peninsula]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:Fruits originating in Africa]]
[[Category:Fruits originating in Asia]]
[[Category:Garden plants of Africa]]
[[Category:Garden plants of Asia]]
[[Category:Ornamental trees]]
[[Category:Fruit trees]]
[[Category:Plants in the Bible]]

Ficus sycomorus - Revision history

CleanupBot: Robot: Replacing encoded entity with character

TrinaAshby9096: Expanded article with relevant info

172.70.162.145: /* External links */

WikiDwarfBOT at 14:20, 12 September 2022