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Ficus lyrata Warb.

Fiddle-leaf Fig

Native records: 11 botanical areas

Benin, Cameroon, Gabon, 8 more areas

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Natural distribution

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NativeIntroducedUncertain

Distribution is shown as WGSRPD Level 3 areas. It does not imply the species occurs throughout an entire area.

Last updated:

Distribution last verified:

See sources

Photograph of Ficus lyrata

A hemiepiphytic fig tree of West & West-Central Tropical Africa, grown worldwide as a houseplant for its large, violin-shaped leaves.

Description

A hemiepiphytic tree of the wet tropical biome of West and West-Central Tropical Africa. The epithet 'lyrata' refers to the lyre-/violin-shaped (fiddle-shaped) leaves, which give the species its common name. POWO lists documented medicinal, environmental, social, and food uses for the species within its native range. Widely cultivated as a large-leaved specimen houseplant globally, alongside Monstera deliciosa and Philodendron species.

Habitat

POWO characterises the species as a hemiepiphytic tree of the wet tropical biome. The distribution centre is the lowland wet tropical forest of the Guinean forest region, from Benin to Togo in West Africa and through Gabon, Cameroon, and Nigeria into West-Central Tropical Africa.

Distribution areas

  • Benin

    • BeninNative

  • Cameroon

    • CameroonNative

  • Côte d'Ivoire

    • Ivory CoastNative

  • El Salvador

    • El SalvadorIntroduced

  • Gabon

    • GabonNative

  • Ghana

    • GhanaNative

  • Guinea

    • GuineaNative

  • Guinea-Bissau

    • Guinea-BissauNative

  • Liberia

    • LiberiaNative

  • Nigeria

    • NigeriaNative

  • Sierra Leone

    • Sierra LeoneNative

  • Spain

    • Canary Is.Introduced

  • Togo

    • TogoNative

  • Trinidad and Tobago

    • Trinidad-TobagoIntroduced

Climate of the native range

The Köppen climate classes found in the areas this plant is recorded as native to. It does not mean an entire area has that climate.

  • Aw Tropical, savannah
  • Am Tropical, monsoon
  • BSh Arid, steppe, hot
  • Af Tropical, rainforest

The same climate occurs in 137 areas worldwide, 124 of which have no record of this plant. See them on the map

A matching climate does not mean the plant can grow there. Range limits are also set by things other than climate — dispersal history, soils, competition. Source: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0 (observed period 1991–2020).

Other names

Fiddle-leaf Fig、Banjo Fig、Fiddle Leaf Fig、Lyre-leaf Fig

Family
Moraceae
Genus
Ficus

Other species in Ficus

Sources

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Benin · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Côte d'Ivoire · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Cameroon · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Spain · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Gabon · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Ghana · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Guinea · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Guinea-Bissau · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Liberia · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Nigeria · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Sierra Leone · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    El Salvador · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Togo · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Trinidad and Tobago · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

Image information