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The Japanese superb fig (Ficus superba var. japonica) belongs to Moraceae (the Mulberry family). It is a tall evergreen tree that is native to the Kii Peninsula of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu of Japan, Taiwan and southern China. This herb grows near seashores and can reach 10-20 m in height. The leaves are elliptic, thick and leathery with petioles 4-6 cm long. The flower bloated sacs are round, 8 mm in diameter, and appear in the axils, branches and trunks in mostly year round. This tree has a symbiotic relationship between small wasps (Agaonidae). In Taiwanese Chinese, it is called "雀榕", and "筆管榕" (bi guan rong).
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