Ficus virens var. sublanceolata
Ficus virens var. sublanceolata is a banyan or strangler fig. It grows alongside the related white fig in the northern part of its range. They differ with narrower leaves, almost lanceolate in shape. Common names in Australia include white fig, sour fig, deciduous fig and banyan. A large example can be seen north of Murwillumbah beside the old Pacific Highway, not far from the state border with Queensland. Habitat and range It grows as far south as the Clarence River, New South Wales, and up through Queensland, Torres Strait, Northern Territory, Western Australia and parts of South East Asia. It is often seen on alluvial soil in riverine rainforest. Description It is a large tree in excess of 30 metres tall, with a trunk diameter exceeding 1.8 metres. It can be semideciduous. Heavily buttressed at the base. The bark is smooth and grey with various bumps and lenticels on the trunk. Small branches smooth, but with scars of leaf stipules. Leaves form with the stipules, and they are shed when the leaf develops. Leaves Alternate on the stem, 5 to 20 cm long, 2.5 to 6 cm wide. Ovate lanceolate in shape, which contrasts to the broader leaves of the