Cluster Fig

The cluster fig is a fast-growing tree of tropical Asia and Australia, deciduous or semi-deciduous, usually 15 to 20 metres tall with a wide crown and large coarse leaves. Its figs grow in dense clusters straight from the trunk and branches, and turn orange or dark crimson when ripe. The tree is of cultural importance in Hinduism and Buddhism, where it and its flower are called udumbara. It is revered as the sacred abode under which Dattatreya taught, and is planted at sites tied to him. In Theravada Buddhism it was the Bodhi tree of the 26th Buddha, Konagamana. In India a bark paste rubbed on a stone with water treats boils and mosquito bites, and a leaf rubbed on the skin removes caterpillar hairs. In Vietnam the leaves are eaten raw with meat.