“ In the fig the coalesce to form a fleshy hollow axis on the inner face of which the flowers are situated, while in Dorstenia they form a flat, often lobed, expansion with the flowers sunk on the upper face. ”

“ It contains about 60 genera with about 1000 species, mostly trees or shrubs, widely distributed in the warmer parts of the earth.
The largest genus, Ficus (the fig, q.v.) , contains 600 species spread through tropical and sub-tropical regions, and includes the common fig of the Mediterranean region (Ficus carica) , the banyan (F. bengalensis) , and the india-rubber plant (F. elastica) ; many of the species are epiphytic, sometimes clinging so tightly round the host-plant with their roots as to strangle it. ”