Ficus pumila
(creeping fig)

Identity

Preferred Scientific Name

• Ficus pumila L.

Preferred Common Name

• creeping fig

Other Scientific Names

• Ficus longipedicellata H. Perrier
• Ficus repens HORT.
• Ficus stipulata Thunb.

International Common Names

• English: climbing fig; creeping rubber plant; fig ivy
• Spanish: higuera trepadora
• French: figuier rampant
• Chinese: bi li; man tu luo

Local Common Names

• Bangladesh: anoya wanch
• Brazil: hera de China; mama de pared
• China: ai yu tzu; kuei man tou; mu lien; mu man tou; pi li
• Colombia: una
• Cuba: ficus trepador; hiedra; jaguey trepador; yedra
• Dominican Republic: yedra
• Germany: Feigenbaum, Kletter-; Kletterfeige
• Guatemala: una
• India: jengto-jingo
• Indonesia: karet rambat
• Japan: o-itabi; o-itabi-kazura
• Japan/Ryukyu Archipelago: chita
• Lesser Antilles: lierre
• Mexico: amate
• Myanmar: kyauk-kat-nyaung-nwe
• Puerto Rico: hiedra; paja de colchon; paz y justicia; yedra
• Sweden: klatterfikus
• Thailand: lin suea; madueo thao
• Vietnam: by I(eej); c(aa)y; c(aa)y x(oo)p; mac pup; th(awf)n l(awf)n; trau cp; vay oc

EPPO code

• FIUPU (Ficus pumila)

Summary of Invasiveness

F. pumila is a dense, rapid-growing, aggressively climbing species with adventitious roots and high tolerance for drought and shade, capable of growing on a wide range of soil types and pH values (Gilman, 1999). It is listed as an “environmental weed, garden thug, naturalised, sleeper weed, weed” in the Global Compendium of Weeds (Randall, 2012). Although it requires a specialist pollinator wasp to set seeds, it can also reproduce by vegetative fragmentation (HEAR, 2008; DAISIE, 2014). It is reported to be invasive to Cuba (Oviedo Prieto et al., 2012) and potentially invasive in New Zealand (Randall, 2012). It has a history of repeated introductions beyond its native range and creates dense, smothering thickets that can significantly alter a habitat if allowed to establish itself (Starr et al., 2003; HEAR, 2008; PIER, 2014). The species is known to be poisonous to mammals (Wiersema and Leon, 1999; USDA-ARS, 2014). Although it received a low score of 2 in a risk assessment for its invasiveness in Hawaii (PIER, 2014), a separate risk assessment gave F. pumila a high risk score of 10 for Florida (HEAR, 2008). This species carries a high risk of introduction in places where its specialist pollinator wasp is present.

Taxonomic Tree

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Urticales
•                         Family: Moraceae
•                             Genus: Ficus
•                                 Species: Ficus pumila

Notes on Taxonomy and Nomenclature

Often called the mulberry family, Moraceae consists of about 40 genera and 1000 species of trees, shrubs, lianas, or rarely herbs, nearly all with milky sap, and mainly of tropical or subtropical origin (Whistler, 2000; University of Hawaii, 2014). The milky sap of various Moraceae species contain ‘heart poisons’ that are used as dart poisons in some cultures; other plant parts such as leaves and fruit juices have also been reported to cause allergic and toxic reactions in humans and livestock (Frohne and Pfa¨nder, 2005). Many genera of this family are well-known as food crops.

Ficus is a large genus of about 800-1000 tree and shrub species native to the tropics and subtropics that are often cultivated beyond their native range for their fig fruits or as ornamentals. Members of this genus are difficult to distinguish by their flowers, but can be differentiated by habit, whether they are banyans or not, by leaf shape, and by their fruits (Whistler, 2000).

Unlike many other members of the genus that grow to be large trees, F. pumila is a climber vine-like species that produces an adhesive latex, allowing it to climb and spread vigorously along walls and other plants (Rojo et al., 1999). The species name F. pumila derives from the Latin word ‘pumila’ meaning ‘dwarf’ (Quattrocchi, 2012), presumably due to its creeping habit that creates a low, dense ground cover only one or two inches high (Gilman, 1999). Cultivars include ‘minima’, which has slender, small leaves, ‘quercifolia’, with tiny lobed leaves, somewhat like miniature oak leaves, and ‘variegata’, which has leaves with creamy white markings (Gilman, 1999).

Description

The juvenile phase of this plant is morphologically different from the adult phase. Juvenile plant attaining several metres in length, much branched, climbing by means of adventitious roots; stems flattened; leaves 1.5-2.5 cm long, ovate to oblong, retuse at the apex, very closely spaced. Adult plant developing into a much branched liana, with adventitious roots, attaining 10 m in length; produces abundant white latex when wounded. Stems flattened, striate, tomentose, glabrescent when mature, with short pendulous branches. Leaves alternate, simple, 4-7 × 2.2-4 cm, oblong, oblanceolate, ovate, or elliptical, the apex obtuse, the base subcordiform, the margins entire; upper surface dark green, slightly shiny, with the venation notably lighter; lower surface light green, dull, with prominent reticulate venation; petioles 1.3-1.6 cm long, flattened on the upper surface, pubescent, light brown; stipules oblong-lanceolate to subulate, persistent, 1-1.2 cm long, brown, sericeous. Syconium green, pyriform, up to 6 cm long, soft (Acevedo-Rodriguez, 2005).

The species will form woody stems after several years of growth.

Plant Type

Distribution

F. pumila is native to temperate and tropical Asia. It is a commonly cultivated species across Puerto Rico and is found in the El Yunque and Maricao public forests (Acevedo-Rodriguez, 2005). It is also widely cultivated in the Philippines and Melanesia (Madulid, 1995), as well as in Nepal and Indo-China (Nepal Checklist, 2014). In the USA, the species can be cultivated in parts of the southern and western coasts (Gilman, 1999). 

Distribution Table

The distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.

History of Introduction and Spread

F. pumila is native to the Old World tropics but is now cultivated and in some cases invasive to introduced places. Date of introduction to the West Indies is uncertain. The species was not included in Bello’s work on Puerto Rico (1881; 1883) but by 1918 it was being cultivated “for ornament and interest” in Bermuda (Britton, 1918), and by 1926 it was being “commonly grown on walls in Puerto Rico and occasionally in the Virgin Islands” (Britton and Wilson, 1926). F. pumila specimens were collected in Cuba in 1920, in Guadeloupe in 1945, and Jamaica in 1966 (US Smithsonian National Herbarium), and today the plant is a widely cultivated and common ornamental species in Puerto Rico (Acevedo-Rodriguez, 2005). Elsewhere, the species has been unintentionally introduced to the Canary Islands and the Azores, and was unintentionally introduced to Italy around 1500 (DAISIE, 2014). In 1882 Joseph Hooker wrote that the species (referring to it as syn. Ficus stipulata) was reportedly introduced to Europe in 1771 but only ‘recently’ became a popular ornamental climber in gardens and conservatories of England, and mentioned specimens growing in Berlin and Paris (Hooker, 1882). According to DAISIE (2014), the species was introduced to Madeira, Portugal as an ornamental in 1914 and unintentionally released through vectors such as live food trade, animals and plants used for ornamental purposes in parks, gardening, and bonsai, and has now become an established species.

Risk of Introduction

F. pumila is a dense, rapid-growing, aggressively climbing species with adventitious roots and high tolerance for drought, shade, and a wide range of soil types and pH (Gilman, 1999). Like other Ficus species, F. pumila requires a specialist pollinator wasp to produce viable seeds and does not appear to spread by seed in Hawaii or New Zealand (Starr et al., 2003); however, it can also reproduce by vegetative fragmentation, which has resulted in its accidental introduction, naturalization and invasiveness to some non-native environments (HEAR, 2008; DAISIE, 2014). The species is reported to be invasive to Cuba (Oviedo Prieto et al., 2012) and potentially invasive in New Zealand (Randall, 2012). It has a history of repeated introductions beyond its native range and creates dense, smothering thickets that can significantly alter a habitat if allowed to establish itself (Starr et al., 2003; HEAR, 2008; PIER, 2014). F. pumila is poisonous to mammals (Wiersema and Leon, 1999; USDA-ARS, 2014). Although the species received a low score of 2 in a risk assessment for its invasiveness in Hawaii (PIER, 2014), a separate risk assessment gave the species a high risk score of 10 for Florida (HEAR, 2008). Considering these traits, this species carries a high risk of introduction in places where its specialist pollinator wasp is present.

Habitat

F. pumila is native to the Old World tropics but has been introduced and is now widely cultivated both indoors and outdoors in the Neotropics, and in some cases has escaped cultivation. In Florida, USA, it is found growing in disturbed thickets (Flora of North America, 2014). In Antioquia, Colombia the species occurs in humid premontane forests (Vascular Plants of Antioquia, 2014). It has also been reported for the Andean region of Bolivia (Bolivia Checklist, 2014). In Hawaii, it has been observed escaping gardens into adjacent disturbed scrub forest of some lowland moist areas, and in New Zealand it has also been reportedly seen escaping cultivation into the edges of forest reserves or spreading from garden rubbish dumped along roadsides (Starr et al., 2003). As a landscape species, F. pumila is often planted by walls and other structures as an ornamental cover.

Habitat List

Biology and Ecology

Genetics

Sporophytic count for F. pumila is 26 (IPCN Chromosome Reports, 2014).

Associations

Each member of the Ficus genus has a symbiotic relationship with an agaonid wasp; just as each Ficus species requires a specific wasp in order to pollinate, the wasp will only lay eggs within its associated Ficus species (Starr et al., 2003). F. pumila is associated with the wasp Wiebesiapumilae, which is currently known to be present in its native Asian range of China, Japan, and Taiwan (Noyes, 2014).

Environmental Requirements

F. pumila is a dense, rapid-growing, aggressively climbing species with adventitious roots and high tolerance for drought, shade, and soil types (Gilman, 1999; Starr et al., 2003). It can tolerate infertile soil and can grow in most soil types including chalk, clay, sand, and loam with pH ranging from acidic to alkaline, so long as it is well-drained (Royal Horticultural Society, 2014).

F. pumila is found at low-to-mid elevations, primarily in humid premontane forests. In Florida the species has been reported growing between 0 and 10 m (Flora of North America, 2014) and in Nicaragua between 0 and 1000 m, while in Colombia it has been observed growing between 1000 and 1500 m (Vascular Plants of Antioquia, 2014), and in Bolivia between 1500 and 2000 m (Bolivia Checklist, 2014). In Nepal, the species has been reported growing around 1400 m (Nepal Checklist, 2014).

Climate

Soil Tolerances

Soil drainage

• free

Soil reaction

• acid
• alkaline
• neutral

Soil texture

• heavy
• light
• medium

Special soil tolerances

• infertile

Means of Movement and Dispersal

According to DAISIE (2014), F. pumila was introduced to Madeira, Portugal as an ornamental in 1914 and was later unintentionally released, becoming an established species. Because it is fast-growing and creates dense foliage, in Florida it is a popular species in theme parks for creating ‘instant’ green walls and ornamental frame-based shrubbery, but requires careful pruning to prevent its escape (Floridata, 2014). In Hawaii and New Zealand, Starr et al. (2003) report that the species vigorously spreads into unwanted areas by vegetative fragments, often as a cultivation escape or from garden rubbish. Animals are less likely causes for introduction and dispersal, as the fruits of this fig species are relatively large and unlikely to be eaten by birds, while the plant is known to be toxic to mammals (Gilman, 1999; Starr et al., 2003; HEAR, 2008; USDA-ARS, 2014).

Pathway Causes

Pathway Vectors

Impact Summary

Economic Impact

Because F. pumila produces edible fruits, its increased presence may provide local foragers with food or means to earn extra income, but also negatively impacts livelihoods by competing with other plant species for space, especially as it is a known agricultural weed. It is also a known vertebrate poison and thus poses additional negative health and livelihood impacts.

Environmental Impact

If allowed to spread, F. pumila can significantly alter ecosystems due to its rapid growth and smothering growth habit, as it creates dense thickets with its adventitious roots and adhesive latex that allows it to grow both horizontally and vertically. 

Risk and Impact Factors

• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Has a broad native range
• Is a habitat generalist
• Tolerates, or benefits from, cultivation, browsing pressure, mutilation, fire etc
• Pioneering in disturbed areas
• Tolerant of shade
• Highly mobile locally
• Long lived
• Fast growing
• Has high reproductive potential
• Has propagules that can remain viable for more than one year
• Reproduces asexually

• Ecosystem change/ habitat alteration
• Negatively impacts agriculture
• Negatively impacts human health
• Negatively impacts animal health
• Negatively impacts livelihoods

• Competition - smothering
• Rapid growth

• Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately

Uses

This species has been widely grown as an ornamental.  In China, Taiwan, and Japan, it is commercially cultivated to make jellies from the fruit (Hanelt et al., 2001; Mabberly, 2008).

Uses List

Environmental

• Graft stock

General

• Botanical garden/zoo
• Ornamental

Genetic importance

• Gene source

Human food and beverage

• Fruits

Medicinal, pharmaceutical

• Traditional/folklore

Ornamental

• Potted plant
• Propagation material

Similarities to Other Species/Conditions

F. pumila is easily distinguished from most other Ficus species due to its unusual climbing habit, rigid leaves and large, pyriform figs (Flora of Nicaragua, 2014).

Prevention and Control

Due to the variable regulations around (de)registration of pesticides, your national list of registered pesticides or relevant authority should be consulted to determine which products are legally allowed for use in your country when considering chemical control. Pesticides should always be used in a lawful manner, consistent with the product's label.

Prevention

F. pumila requires a specialist pollinator wasp in order to set viable seed. Especially in places where F. pumila is already a known weed or invasive species, it is a high priority to prevent the wasp from entering non-native areas in order to prevent further spread.

Chemical Control

Chemical control has been used for Ficus species, as they are sensitive to triclopyr herbicides as a basal or stump treatment (Starr et al., 2003). F. pumila was reportedly successfully controlled by Metsulfuron herbicide, 5 grams to 10 litres of water in a knapsack sprayer in New Zealand, but no chemical measures were reportedly being used in Hawaii as of 2003 (Starr et al., 2003; HEAR, 2008).

Physical Control

The species can be physically controlled by pruning to prevent the plant from maturing into a woody shrub or tree-like form. However, it is a vigorous climbing plant with adventitious roots and can spread vegetatively. For this reason, grazing and burning are not the most effective methods for such Ficus species (Starr et al., 2003; DiTomaso et al., 2013).

References

Acevedo-Rodríguez P, 2005. Vines and climbing plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, 51:483 pp.

Acevedo-Rodríguez P; Strong MT, 2012. Catalogue of the Seed Plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany, 98:1192 pp. Washington DC, USA: Smithsonian Institution. http://botany.si.edu/Antilles/WestIndies/catalog.htm

Bello D, 1883. [English title not available]. (Apuntes para la flora de Puerto Rico. Segunda parte. Monoclamídeas.) Anales de la Sociedad Española de Historia Natural, 12:103-130.

Bello Espinosa D, 1881. [English title not available]. (Apuntes para la flora de Puerto Rico. Primera parte.) Anal. Soc. Española de Hist. Nat, 10:231-304.

Bolivia Checklist, 2014. Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Bolivia, Tropicos website. St. Louis, Missouri and Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: Missouri Botanical Garden and Harvard University Herbaria. http://tropicos.org/NameSearch.aspx?projectid=13

Britton NL, 1918. Flora of Bermuda. New York, USA: Charles Scribner's Sons. 585 pp.

Britton NL; Wilson P, 1926. Scientific Survey of Porto Rico and Virgin Islands. Volumen VI. New York, USA: Academy of Sciences, 629 pp.

Broome R; Sabir K; Carrington S, 2007. Plants of the Eastern Caribbean. Online database. Barbados: University of the West Indies. http://ecflora.cavehill.uwi.edu/index.html

Chong KY; Tan HTW; Corlett RT, 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore. http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/raffles_museum_pub/flora_of_singapore_tc.pdf

DAISIE, 2014. Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe. European Invasive Alien Species Gateway. www.europe-aliens.org/default.do

DiTomaso JM; Kyser GB; Oneto SR; Wilson RG; Orloff SB; Anderson LW; Wright SD; Roncoroni JA; Miller TL; Prather TS; Ransom C; Beck KG; Duncan C; Wilson KA; Mann JJ, 2013. Weed Control in Natural Areas in the Western United States. Davis, California, USA: Weed Research and Information Center, University of California, 544 pp.

Flora Mesoamericana, 2014. Flora Mesoamericana. St. Louis, Missouri, USA: Missouri Botanical Garden. http://www.tropicos.org/Project/FM

Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2014. Flora of China. St. Louis, Missouri and Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: Missouri Botanical Garden and Harvard University Herbaria. http://www.efloras.org/flora_page.aspx?flora_id=2

Flora of Nicaragua, 2014. Flora of Nicaragua, Tropicos website. St. Louis, Missouri and Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: Missouri Botanical Garden and Harvard University Herbaria. http://tropicos.org/NameSearch.aspx?projectid=7

Flora of North America Editorial Committee, 2014. Flora of North America North of Mexico. http://www.efloras.org/flora_page.aspx?flora_id=1

Floridata, 2014. FLORIDATAbase website. Tallahassee, Florida, USA: Floridata.com. http://www.floridata.com/

Forzza RC; Leitman PM; Costa AF; Carvalho Jr AA, et al. , 2014. List of species of the Flora of Brazil (Lista de espécies Flora do Brasil). Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Rio de Janeiro Botanic Garden. http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br

Frohne D; Pfander HJ, 2005. Poisonous plants: A handbook for doctors, pharmacists, toxicologists, biologists and veterinarians. 2nd Edition. Portland, OR, USA: Timber Press, 469 pp.

Funk V; Hollowell T; Berry P; Kelloff C; Alexander SN, 2007. Checklist of the plants of the Guiana Shield (Venezuela: Amazonas, Bolivar, Delta Amacuro; Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana). Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, 584 pp.

Gilman EF, 1999. Ficus pumila, Fact Sheet FPS-212. Florida, USA: Environmental Horticulture Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida. http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/database/documents/pdf/shrub_fact_sheets/ficpuma.pdf

Hanelt P; Buttner R; Mansfeld R, 2001. Mansfeld's Encyclopedia of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops (except Ornamentals). Berlin, Germany: Springer.

HEAR, 2008. Australia/New Zealand Weed Risk Assessment for Ficus pumila adapted for Florida. http://www.hear.org/wra/tncflwra/pdfs/tncflwra_ficus_pumila_ispm.pdf

Hooker JD, 1882. Ficus stipulata. Curtis' Botanical Magazine, 108(6657).

IPCN Chromosome Reports, 2014. Index to Plant Chromosome Numbers (IPCN), Tropicos website. St. Louis, Missouri, USA: Missouri Botanical Garden. http://tropicos.org/Project/IPCN

Kress WJ; Defilipps RA; Farr E; Kyi DYY, 2003. A checklist of the trees, shrubs, herbs, and climbers of Myanmar. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, 45:1-590.

Mabberly DJ, 2008. Mabberley's Plant-book: A Portable Dictionary of Plants, their Classifications, and Uses. Third edition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Madulid DA, 1995. A Pictorial Cyclopedia of Philippine Ornamental Plants. Bookmark, Inc., Metro Manilla:214-217.

Missouri Botanical Garden, 2015. Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder. St. Louis, MO, USA: Missouri Botanical Garden. http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/plantfinder/plantfindersearch.aspx

Nepal Checklist, 2014. Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal. St. Louis, Missouri and Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: Missouri Botanical Garden and Harvard University Herbaria. http://www.efloras.org/flora_page.aspx?flora_id=110

Noyes JS, 2014. Universal Chalcidoidea Database. London, UK: Natural History Museum. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/chalcidoids

Oviedo Prieto R; Herrera Oliver P; Caluff MG, et al. , 2012. National list of invasive and potentially invasive plants in the Republic of Cuba - 2011. (Lista nacional de especies de plantas invasoras y potencialmente invasoras en la República de Cuba - 2011). Bissea: Boletín sobre Conservación de Plantas del Jardín Botánico Nacional de Cuba, 6(Special Issue 1):22-96.

Pelser PB; Barcelona JF; Nickrent DL, 2014. Co's Digital Flora of the Philippines. www.philippineplants.org

Quattrocchi U, 2012. CRC world dictionary of medicinal and poisonous plants: common names, scientific names, eponyms, synonyms, and etymology [ed. by Quattrocchi, U.]. London, UK: CRC Press Inc., 3960 pp.

Randall RP, 2012. A Global Compendium of Weeds. Perth, Australia: Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, 1124 pp. http://www.cabi.org/isc/FullTextPDF/2013/20133109119.pdf

Rojo JP; Pitargue FC; Sosef MSM, 1999. Ficus L. In: Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) No. 12(1): Medicinal and poisonous plants 1 [ed. by Padua, L. S. de \Bunyapraphatsara, N. \Lemmens, R. H. M. J.]. Leiden, the Netherlands: Backhuys Publisher, 277-289.

Royal Horticultural Society, 2014. RHS Find a Plant website. London, UK: Royal Horticultural Society. https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants

Starr F; Starr K; Loope L, 2003. Ficus pumila (creeping fig). Ficus pumila (creeping fig). Maui, Hawaii, USA: United States Geological Survey- Biological Resources Division. http://www.starrenvironmental.com/publications/species_reports/pdf/ficus_pumila.pdf

University of Hawaii, 2014. Department of Botany Vascular Plant Family Access Page: Moraceae. Honolulu, USA: University of Hawaii. http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/mor.htm

USDA-ARS, 2014. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online Database. Beltsville, Maryland, USA: National Germplasm Resources Laboratory. https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomysearch.aspx

USDA-NRCS, 2014. The PLANTS Database. Baton Rouge, USA: National Plant Data Center. http://plants.usda.gov/

Vascular Plants of Antioquia, 2014. Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of the Department of Antioquia (Colombia), Tropicos website. St. Louis, Missouri and Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: Missouri Botanical Garden and Harvard University Herbaria. http://tropicos.org/Project/CV

Wagner WL; Herbst DR; Tornabene MW; Weitzman A; Lorence DH, 2014. Flora of Micronesia website. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution. http://botany.edu/pacificislandbiodiversity/micronesia/index.htm

Whistler WA, 2000. Tropical ornamentals. Portland, Oregon, USA: Timber Press.

Wiersema JH; León B, 1999. World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference. Boca Raton, Florida, USA: CRC Press, 749 pp.

Distribution References

Acevedo-Rodríguez P, 2005. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, Washington, USA: Department of Systematic Biology - Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. 51, 483 pp.

Acevedo-Rodríguez P, Strong M T, 2012. Catalogue of the Seed Plants of the West Indies. Washington, DC, USA: Smithsonian Institution. 1192 pp. http://botany.si.edu/Antilles/WestIndies/catalog.htm

Broome R, Sabir K, Carrington S, 2007. Plants of the Eastern Caribbean., Barbados: University of the West Indies. http://ecflora.cavehill.uwi.edu/index.html

CABI, Undated. Compendium record. Wallingford, UK: CABI

CABI, Undated a. CABI Compendium: Status inferred from regional distribution. Wallingford, UK: CABI

CABI, Undated b. CABI Compendium: Status as determined by CABI editor. Wallingford, UK: CABI

Chong KY, Tan HTW, Corlett RT, 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. In: A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore, http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/raffles_museum_pub/flora_of_singapore_tc.pdf

DAISIE, 2014. Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe. http://www.europe-aliens.org/

Flora Mesoamericana, 2014. Flora Mesoamericana., St. Louis, Missouri, USA: Missouri Botanical Garden. http://www.tropicos.org/Project/FM

Flora of Nicaragua, 2014. Flora of Nicaragua, Tropicos website., St. Louis, Missouri and Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: Missouri Botanical Garden and Harvard University Herbaria. http://tropicos.org/NameSearch.aspx?projectid=7

Gilman EF, 1999. Ficus pumila, Fact Sheet FPS-212., Florida, USA: Environmental Horticulture Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida. http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/database/documents/pdf/shrub_fact_sheets/ficpuma.pdf

Hanelt P, Buttner R, Mansfeld R, 2001. Mansfeld's Encyclopedia of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops (except Ornamentals). Berlin, Germany: Springer. 539 pp.

Kress WJ, Defilipps RA, Farr E, Kyi DYY, 2003. A checklist of the trees, shrubs, herbs, and climbers of Myanmar. In: Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, 45 1-590.

Madulid DA, 1995. A Pictorial Cyclopedia of Philippine Ornamental Plants., Metro Manilla, Bookmark, Inc. 214-217.

Oviedo Prieto R, Herrera Oliver P, Caluff M G, et al, 2012. National list of invasive and potentially invasive plants in the Republic of Cuba - 2011. (Lista nacional de especies de plantas invasoras y potencialmente invasoras en la República de Cuba - 2011). Bissea: Boletín sobre Conservación de Plantas del Jardín Botánico Nacional de Cuba. 6 (Special Issue No. 1), 22-96.

Pelser PB, Barcelona JF, Nickrent DL, 2014. Co's Digital Flora of the Philippines., http://www.philippineplants.org

Randall RP, 2012. A Global Compendium of Weeds., Perth, Australia: Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia. 1124 pp. http://www.cabi.org/isc/FullTextPDF/2013/20133109119.pdf

Starr F, Starr K, Loope L, 2003. Ficus pumila (creeping fig)., Maui, Hawaii, USA: United States Geological Survey- Biological Resources Division. http://www.starrenvironmental.com/publications/species_reports/pdf/ficus_pumila.pdf

USDA-ARS, 2014. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online Database. Beltsville, Maryland, USA: National Germplasm Resources Laboratory. https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomysimple.aspx

USDA-NRCS, 2014. The PLANTS Database. Greensboro, North Carolina, USA: National Plant Data Team. https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov

Vascular Plants of Antioquia, 2014. Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of the Department of Antioquia (Colombia), Tropicos website., St. Louis, Missouri and Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: Missouri Botanical Garden and Harvard University Herbaria. http://tropicos.org/Project/CV

Wagner WL, Herbst DR, Tornabene MW, Weitzman A, Lorence DH, 2014. Flora of Micronesia website., Washington DC, Smithsonian Institution. http://botany.edu/pacificislandbiodiversity/micronesia/index.htm

Links to Websites

Contributors

25/8/2014 Original text by:

Marianne Jennifer Datiles, Department of Botany-Smithsonian NMNH, Washington DC, USA

Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, Department of Botany-Smithsonian NMNH, Washington DC, USA

Distribution Maps