THE QUEEN OF SAVANNAH TREES

General description

It is perhaps a little-known fact that there are 11 species of figs in the Kruger National Park (KNP). Perhaps the best-known of these, and one of the tallest tree species in the KNP, is the evergreen or deciduous sycomore common cluster fig (Ficus sycomorus subsp. sycomorus), a characteristic tree of the KNP. The genus name, ‘Ficus’, is the Latin name for the domestic fig, while ‘sycomorus’ refers to the sycomore fig of the Bible. In Xitsonga it is called ‘nkuwa’, ‘muhuyu-lukuse’ in Tshivenda, and ‘gewone trosvy’ or ‘geelriviervy’ in Afrikaans.

“The sycomore fig grows up to 20-25m tall in the KNP and Lowveld .”

The sycomore fig grows up to 20-25m tall in the KNP and Lowveld, and with an equally large, spreading canopy. Elsewhere, it is reported to grow to 35m tall and is known as the ‘African Queen of trees’. In the KNP, it is in fact one of the ‘Big Seven’, i.e. the seven tallest tree species in the Park, the others being the baobab (), nyala tree (), fever tree (), matumi (Breonadia salicina), wild-mango (), and).