Ficus amplissima Smith
| Kannada Name : | Bilibasari mara |
| Common Name : | Indian bat tree |
| Family Name : | Moraceae |
| Scientific Name : | Ficus amplissima |
| Species Type : | Indigenous |
| Phenology : | Evergreen |
| Conservation Status : | Not known |
| Flowering Period : | December - January |
| Fruiting Period : | December - February |
| Origin : | Western ghats, Sri Lanka |
Uses
It has been traditionally used in Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani medicine for the treatment of diabetes. The bark of the tree is a natural anti-diabetic and anti-oxidant medicine, reducing blood glucose levels. The phenol in leaves gives the foliage anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties. In native medicine, leaf juice is applied on chronic wounds and the latex is applied on fresh wounds.The figs are chewed and their juice is sucked to treat mouth ulcers.
Description
A large deciduous tree, up to 18 m tall. Bark-greenish-grey, young shoots whitish puberulous to vinous. Leaves simple, coriaceous, ovate or elliptic-lanceolate to ovate-oblong, glabrous, coriaceous, base rounded to cuneate, acute or obtusely acuminate at apex, stipules ovate-lanceolate. Inflorescence a syconium. Hypanthodia monoecious, sessile, in axillary pairs and around old leaf scars, depressed globular or obovoid, glabrous to puberulous basal bracts. Male flowers: few, disperse, stamen single. Female flowers: sessile; ovary white. Figs depressed-globose to pyriform, pink to purple, smooth achenes.
