Roxburgh's or the elephant ear fig (Ficus auriculata Loureiro) is one of about 800 species of figs. Figs are members of the Moraceae, the mulberry family, and though pantropical, the greatest diversity of figs are found in the Old World tropics. Roxburgh's fig is native to India, Nepal, China, and Southeast Asia.

Roxburgh's fig blooms on spurs that extend from the trunk and main branches—a trait known as cauliflory. In the photograph, there are figs which appear on the ground, but these are actually connected to spurs coming from the trunk near the soil line. The inflorescence of the fig is comprised of numerous highly-reduced staminate (male) and pistillate (female) flowers surrounded by the receptacle. (See Renfield's Garden, September 4, 2002)

When pollinated by a wasp, the receptacle expands into a fruit called a syconium. The inside of Roxburgh's fig becomes gelatinous when ripe and is a popular, but local fruit, seldom offered outside of southern Asia.

Roxburgh's fig has an application that subsistence farmers learned long ago. It is a fodder tree grown for its large cordate (heart-shaped) leaves. In areas of small farms on marginal lands, Roxburgh's fig is planted close to fields or roads and frequently lopped to produce numerous leafy branches.

Cows on these farms are an economic necessity, usually used both as draft animals and for the production of calves and milk. Their diets consist of dried nutrient-poor materials like rice straw. The addition of fresh leaves from this fig keeps cows fitter and less likely to abort their calves.

(Compiled from: "Ficus auriculata", Jim Solomon, W3TROPICOS, Missouri Botanical Garden; "Indigenous Knowledge of Fodder Tree Cultivation in Mid-Hill Nepal", Michael Kollmair, PhD, Human Geography Division, Department of Geography, University of Zurich; "9 Ficus roxburghii Wall.", Wild Fruits, C. Parmar and M.K. Kaushal, Kalyani Publishers, New Delhi, 1982, published on the internet by the Horticulture Department of Purdue University http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/parmar/09.html; and "Effect of work on dry matter intake, milk production and reproduction in multipurpose cows fed low quality roughage", Ercole Zerbini and Takele Gemeda, Livestock Research for Rural Development, Vol 6, No 2, October 1994)