Ficus dammaropsis, the Highland breadfruit, locally called kapiak in Tok Pisin, is a tropical dioecious evergreen fig tree (subgenus Sycamorus, of the Mulberry Family (Moraceae) with huge pleated leaves 60 cm across and up to 90 cm in length. on petioles as much as 13 in long and 1 in thick. These emerge from a stipular sheath up to 14 in long, the largest of any dicot. It is native to the highlands and highland fringe of New Guinea. It generally grows at altitudes of between 850 and 2750 m. Its fruit, the world's largest figs (syconia), up to 6 in in diameter, are edible but rarely eaten except as an emergency food. There are two fruit colour variants in Ficus dammaropsis, red and green, as illustrated by the photos here. They are pollinated by the tiny fig wasp Ceratosolen abnormis. The young leaves are pickled or cooked and eaten as a vegetable with pig meat by highlanders. The lowland form of this species, with different and smaller flower form and less pleated leaves than Ficus dammaropsis, found commonly below 900 m is recognized as a distinct species, Ficus brusii. The species can be found at the Melbourne Botanic Gardens, located in the ‘Yucca Bed’.

Cultivation

With its bold tropical leaves and relative tolerance of cold, F. dammaropsis is cultivated as an ornamental tree in frost-free climates.