Broom Cluster Fig in the Origins Centre indigenous garden

Ficus sur
BROOM CLUSTER FIG
UMKHIWANE
BESEM-TROSVY

A fast-growing evergreen tree with large oval, green leaves. The tasty figs grow in big clusters low down on the trunk and can even appear at ground level, arising from the roots.

The broom cluster fig is a rock-splitting, shade tree that reaches up to 35 m. It is found alongside rivers and waterways in northern and eastern South Africa, and all the way up to North Africa.

The fruits produced in summer are very sweet and are consumed fresh or as jam.
The wood of the trunk is used traditionally as part of a fire-lighting kit and for making mortars, drums, brake blocks, and bed boards. The inner bark is used to make rope. The white latex from the live growth areas of the plant is used for treating lung and throat ailments. It is also used to encourage milk production in cows.

Like other fig trees, this one relies on a symbiotic relationship with a specific wasp species which, while laying eggs inside the fig, collects pollen and pollinates other “fruit” of the same species.

The Origins Centre experience begins in the garden where we nurture a variety of indigenous plants found in South Africa. The plants have medicinal, ritual, recreational, edible, cosmetic and hunting applications. They also attract a range of interesting birds