Ficus pumila
(creeping fig)

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)

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

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).

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.

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.

Soil drainage

• free

Soil reaction

• acid
• alkaline
• neutral

Soil texture

• heavy
• light
• medium

Special soil tolerances

• infertile

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).

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.

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. 

• 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

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).