Urostigma benghalense (L.) Gasp.
A large, evergreen to deciduous, up to 20 (-25) m tall, with wide leafy crown and branches spreading up to 100 m or more with pillar-like prop roots and accessory trunks. Trunk massive, fluted, bark grey, smooth, young softly white puberulous. Leaves with stout, (1.5-) 2-6 (-8) cm long, do ventrally compressed hairy petiole; lamina coriaceous, ovate or orb ovate to elliptic, (8-) 10-20 (-25) cm long, (6-) 8-15 (20) cm broad, glabrous above, finely pubescent beneath, base subcordate or rounded, margins apically obtuse, lateral nerves 4-7 pairs, intercostals distinct, ± bulging stipules coriaceous, stout, 1.5-2.5 cm long, acute; cystoliths abundant on side, few or absent below. Hypanthodia sessile, in axillary pairs on young depressed-globose, 15-2 cm in diameter, green, hairy, subtended by 3, reniform c. 3-4 mm long, c. 6-7 mm wide, minutely hairy basal bracts, apical orifice by 3, flat or ± umbonate bracts, internal bristles absent. Male flowers: numerous ostiolar, shortly pedicellate; sepals 2-3; stamen solitary, with shortly mucronate anther. Female flowers: sessile, mixed with gall flowers; sepals 34, small; ovary with an elongated style. Gall flowers numerous, pedicellate; sepal as in female ovary with a short style. Figs globose to depressed-globose, 15-2.5 cm in diam pinkish-red, hairy.
Lectotype: Ficus benghalensis, folio subrotundo, fructu orbiculato, Commelin, Hort. 1, page 119. t. 62.
Linnaeus in his protologue of Ficus berghalensis cited Hort. Cliff., Van and Amoen: Acad. 1: 29. No specimens have been found that link with these references except for Van Royen’s sheet L 908186144. This specimen consists of a single leaf. No specimen of Ficus benghalensis is preserved in the herbaria in London and Stockholm and although Linn 1240.8 could typify Ficus indica L it could not typify Ficus benghalensis. The remaining elements in Linnean protologue are Commelin’s plate 62 and Rheede’s Peralu, Hort. Mal. 1: 49. t. 28. Since Linnaeus obtained his epithet from Commelin and Since Cited t. 62 in all his publications on this taxon, we have designated here Commelin’s plate 62 as a suitable lectotype of Ficus benghalensis in preference to Rheede’s plate and the Van Royen’s specimen.
