Ficus coronata

Ficus coronata, commonly known as the sandpaper fig or creek sandpaper fig, is a species of fig tree, native to Australia. It is found along the east coast from Mackay in Central Queensland, through New South Wales and just into Victoria near Mallacoota. It grows along river banks and gullies in rainforest and open forest. Its common name is derived from its rough sandpapery leaves, which it shares with the other sandpaper figs.

Taxonomy

It was first described by the Italian Marquese di Spigno in 1818. Its specific epithet the Latin coronata "crowned", referring to a ring of bristles around the apex of the fruit. Ficus stephanocarpa (also meaning 'crowned fruit') as described by the German botanist Otto Warburg is a synonym.

Description

The sandpaper fig is a small tree which may reach the dimensions of 6–12 m (20–39 ft) tall by 3–5 m (9.8–16.4 ft) wide, although is generally smaller. The trunk is dark brown, and the ovate or elliptical leaves are 5–15 cm (2.0–5.9 in) long by 2–5 cm (0.79–1.97 in) wide and very scabrous (rough) like sandpaper on the upper side. The new growth is hairy. The succulent oval fruit is around 1.5 cm (0.59 in) long and covered in dense hairs.