Stats

Lifespan

25-50 yrs

Size

Large

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Tropical rainforest

Range

Sub-Saharan Africa

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Toxins

Status

Uncommon

About

The Fiddle Leaf Fig is a towering rainforest tree native to West Africa's lowland forests, prized as a houseplant for its dramatic violin-shaped leaves that can reach 45 cm in length. In the wild it can grow over 15 metres tall, but indoors it thrives as a slow-growing focal piece.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

• View on iNaturalist →
• Watch on YouTube →

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Rosales

Family

Moraceae

Genus

Ficus

Species

Ficus lyrata