Ficus rubiginosa rusty-leaf fig

Rusty-leaf fig, Stanford Shopping Center. Sairus Patel, 6 Oct 2022

Stanford’s only specimen is on Orchard Lane in the Shopping Center, at the edge of the parking lot near Arboretum Road. A tangle of thick roots swells up from its narrow confines. Masses of aerial roots hang from the branches, making this tree unique among all campus trees. Glossy dark green leaves may remind you of the rubber plant (F. elastica), a common house plant. Our specimen doesn’t have the rusty dusting on the leaf undersides referenced in the common name. The figs are about ¼ to ½ inch long, smaller than the Moreton Bay fig’s.