Sacha writes
Nice to be home but returning with a query. In a small public park in
Devonport near Auckland, NZ, we saw a tree that is entirely new to us called
(I think) Morton Bay fig. This seems to be Ficus macrophylla but is this
the same tree? Can any Kiwis confirm that ID? We were told it's ornamental
and the fruit is eaten only by monkeys in its original home of.....?! The
leaves look similar to some form of Magnolia and Ray heard someone tell his
friends that's what it is - but it isn't. Is it? ;-))

I have one grown from seed that was sent to me by a lover in Australia -
allegedly Moreton Bay Fig, very obviously from leaves and sap a Ficus. I
have it in a tub as a sort of overgrown bonsai - it's now about 25 years
old. Leaves are about 8in long, oval, leathery. It chucks out aerial
roots from near the base, and the trunk is quite thickened at the base -
in fact it looks just like the F macrophylla images on the web.

Apparently it is growing outside at Tresco.

Usher "A dictionary of plants used by man" lists 86 speces of Ficus
which have a use, but F macrophylla is not among them, which suggests it
is purely ornamental.
--
Kay