Ficus dammaropsis, the Highland breadfruit, locally called kapiak in Tok Pisin, is a tropical dioecious[2] evergreen fig tree (subgenus Sycamorus, of the Mulberry Family (Moraceae) with huge pleated leaves 60 cm (24 in) across and up to 90 cm (3 ft) in length.[3] on petioles as much as thirteen inches (thirty-three centimetres) long and 1 in (2.5 cm) thick. These emerge from a stipular sheath up to fourteen inches (thirty-six centimetres) 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 2,750 metres (2,790 and 9,020 ft). Its fruit, the world's largest figs (syconia), up to six inches (fifteen centimetres) 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.[4] The young leaves are pickled or cooked and eaten as a vegetable with pig meat by highlanders.[5]
The lowland form of this species, with different and smaller flower form and less pleated leaves than Ficus dammaropsis, found commonly below 900 metres (2,950 ft) is recognized as a distinct species, Ficus brusii.[5]
R. Michael Bourke. "Indigenous fruit in Papua New Guinea"(PDF). Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. The Australian National University. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2007-07-31. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
R.N. Kambuou (1996). Papua New Guinea: Country Report(PDF). FAO International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources. Leipzig: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 2008-06-19.{{cite conference}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
