Ficus naikii
Ficus naikii
| Kanger Valley Fig | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Moraceae |
| Genus: | Ficus |
| Species: | F. naikii
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| Binomial name | |
| Ficus naikii A. P. Tiwari, Shreehari & R. P. Mishra
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Ficus naikii or Kanger Valley Fig is a critically endangered species of Moraceae (Fig family), discovered and described in 2025 from Kanger Valley National Park (KVNP) in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh. It is entirely endemic to the Bastar division of Chhattisgarh state in central India. [1]
Description
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A small tree grows up to 6 m in height. Bark is smooth, glabrous, white to pale yellow in color. Leaves simple; stipule 0.6-3.5 cm long, pubescent; petiole 4.5-8.0 cm long, glabrous; lamina ovate in shape, 7.0-16.0 × 4.5-11.0 cm, base subcordate to rounded, apex acuminate, acumen up to 1.5 cm long, glabrous on both side; lateral veins 6-7 pairs. Basal bracts covering up to middle of the receptacle, 4.6 mm long, pubescent-tomentose outside and glabrous insede. Receptacles axillary, paired or clustered sessile, globose, 0.6-0.8 cm in diameter, tomemtose. Staminate flowers sessile; tepals 3-4, free, white. Pistillate flowers sessile; tepal 3-4, lanceolate, free, white; ovary pale brown. Figs tomentose.[1][1]
Distribution and Habitat
The native range of this species is India (Bastar, Chattisgarh). It grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.[2] [3]
Journey of discovering Kanger Valley Fig
Etymology
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_M._L._Naik.png)
The species epithet (naikii) is in the honor of Dr. M. L. Naik, Ex-Professor and Dean, School of Studies in Life Science, Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, an eminent taxonomist, ecologist, environmentalist and administrator, who have devoted more than 45 years to the floristic studies in Chhattisgarh.
This article "Ficus naikii" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Ficus naikii. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tiwari, Arjun Prasad; Sivan Nair, Sreehari; Prasad Mishra, Rajendra; Shaikh, Mujaffar (2025-10). "Ficus naikii (Moraceae), a new species from central India". Nordic Journal of Botany. 2025 (10). doi:10.1002/njb.04788. ISSN 0107-055X. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "Ficus naikii A.P.Tiwari, Sreehari & R.P.Mishra | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
- ↑ "#newspecies #botanydiscovery #plantscience #biodiversity #ficusnaikii #rarefig #moraceae | St. Teresa's College". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
