Ficus palmata

Ficus palmata, the Punjab fig, or "Bedu" is a plant in the family Moraceae. It is native to southern Egypt across to north-eastern tropical Africa and also the Arabian Peninsula. It is a shrub/tree with edible fruit.

Description

Ficus palmata grows as a shrub, or tree, growing up to tall. The fruits, which turn purplish on maturing, measure up to long. The flowers are greenish white.

Taxonomy

It was first published by Peter Forsskål in Fl. Aegypt.-Arab. on page 179 in 1775.
It is also known as the Wild Himalayan fig.

Subspecies

There are 2 known subspecies;

Ficus palmata subsp. palmata
Ficus palmata subsp. virgata

Which has the synonyms of; Ficus virgata, Ficus caricoides, Ficus pseudocarica and ''Ficus urticifolia''

Distribution and habitat

Ficus palmata is native to north-eastern Africa: from Egypt south to Somalia, and to the Arabian Peninsula and Syria and to Asia: from the Arabian Peninsula and Iran east to India and the Himalayas,.
Its habitat, desert or dry shrubland including near villages in the Himalayas, is at altitudes of.

Uses

In the Himalayan region, its fruit is widely sold and consumed.
The whole fruit, including the seeds are edible. The fruits are used in folk medicine to treat inflammation, pathogenic bacterial ailments and be used as an analgesic.