How to Identify Moreton Bay Fig vs Port Jackson Fig

Jason · Post by **Jason** » January 14th, 2016, 11:02 am

Rory wrote:
My Moreton Bay figs will also have very dark red growing tips as opposed to the Port Jackson Fig as the new leaves are being formed.

I've also been told a good way to identify them is from the redish/rusty colour on the underside of the leaf. Not foolproof though

They can be tricky to pick sometimes, so all these tips are helpful

Kevin · Post by **Kevin** » January 15th, 2016, 5:50 am

Re: How to Identify Moreton Bay Fig vs Port Jackson Fig
That is fair enough to all your comments of the above users.

Hello Rory,

Did I miss something?

Another 2 questions regarding theses 2 species:

Quest 1. As these trees have a large indigenous, specimen planting, and healthy 'happy to set root anywhere' adaptability about them throughout regions which can be extremely varied i.e. temperature, rainfall, soil types, etc - have you noticed any significant variations to specific regions that may help with their ID?

One specific detail regarding each species leaf which I have (once used 20 years ago) noticed specifically characteristic to each species was the colour and texture on the leafs back - the PJ had a brown rough texture while the MB was just a dull green and as you have already mentioned the MB was a tad larger. I recall using this feature as my distinguishing ID which was specific to the indigenous plants around Sydney's coastal areas to Wollongong. As I haven't been through those areas for at least 10 - 15 years I cannot quote that characteristic for today.

Quest 2. One of my plants was rescued from an estate dating back to the 1790's in an area well west of Sydney and not indigenous (I believe at that time) to either species however the property has had many well documented owners and rich agricultural history from day one going through an era of deleting the natives and importing exotics from varied regions of the world. Before your earlier ID guide, this plants ID was my only problem - It looks like a PJ but does not have the brown texture on the reverse leaf making me believe exotic.

But now, daft and still scratching the head.

Looking forward to comments.

Kevin

Kevin · Post by **Kevin** » January 29th, 2016, 11:01 am

Rory wrote:HOW TO IDENTIFY MORETON BAY FIG vs PORT JACKSON FIG

I hope this helps all of you for those that are never quite sure which species they have purchased / want to purchase / or are just curious.

For interest sake, the advantages of the Port Jackson fig are that they produce smaller leaves. The advantages of the Moreton Bay fig are that they tend to produce more aerial roots and that they take easier rather than the PJ, who can die off easier than the MB aerial roots. I also find that the base of the trunk is easier to widen than a PJ. This is just worth of extra advice if you are not sure which to go with. In my opinion the Moreton Bay figs make better bonsai if you are prepared to constantly reduce the leaf size. They are both incredibly hardy, but I find the Moreton Bay fig is just that little bit hardier for drought tolerance and over watering. But this last paragraph is obviously just my opinion.

Hello Rory, Everyone,

I do agree Rory with your above opinion.

I am still struggling with these ID's. For many years i was convinced some of mine were MBs until reading your excellent post, i then converted to thinking PJ. Now having read information from RBGS via their PlantNET site, i am back to the MB.

Australian Natives have such a diverse range of characteristics which unfortunately are NOT ATYPICAL to each species. However, what MAYBE ATYPICAL within these two:

1. Their water requirements
- PJ - natural distribution is anywhere DRY
- MB - are coastal, representative in Eastern Australia as wet or moist.

2. Their petioles
- PJ - 1 - 3cm
- MB - 5 - 10cm
- Again very atypical, but still a significant difference.

3. Young Stems
- PJ - rustic pubescent
- MB - glabrous

Unfortunately, as none of mine have flowered, i haven't gone into their differences.

Thoughts anyone?

Thanks

Kevin

Rory · Post by **Rory** » January 29th, 2016, 11:22 am

Sorry Kevin,

I realize I hadn't replied to your comments. I haven't taken great notice of the underside of the leaves, nor the differences from location. My only experiences are from material sourced locally to Sydney / Coastal areas.

There is a very experienced grower at our local club, John Batty, who is the goto man for figs here, who may be able to shed better light on this topic. I'll have to ask for his wisdom next time I talk to him.

Kevin · Post by **Kevin** » January 29th, 2016, 1:44 pm

Thanks Rory,

I got my "atypicals" all messed up, but i'm sure you know what i meant. Variations within the same species can be quite diverse within Australian plants. I imagine that would be due to our climatic, etc. conditions.

Looking forward to your post after you speak with John Batty.

Thanks again.

Kevin

Rory · Post by **Rory** » September 16th, 2016, 10:24 am

I spoke to John Batty on Tuesday. He is a walking encyclopedia of Ficus knowledge. FYI, he defoliates his figs 7 times throughout the year. 7!!! It is no wonder he has such small leaves.

He says the best way to distinguish the 2 species is to look at the Petiole. At this time of year (spring), if the tree is in a decent amount of Sun and the leaves are matured, the petiole of a Moreton bay fig should be dark blood red in colour. The Port Jackson fig petiole is green.

I haven't looked at the petiole in other seasons, but I will check as the seasons progress. After his comments, I have looked at all my different figs, and all the MB figs have the dark red petioles and the PJs have green petioles.

The best known indicator so far
The Moreton bay fig Petiole colour is (blood red) on hardened leaves in full sun. The PJ Petiole colour is greenish:

Fig Leaf.jpg

Something else to look out for, but can vary
Leaf shape:
The Moreton bay fig usually has more of a heart shape to it.
The Port Jackson fig usually has more of an elongated oval shape to it.

MBvsPJ.jpg

bodhidharma · Post by **bodhidharma** » September 16th, 2016, 11:08 am

This has been discussed in other threads to reach that conclusion. The way to i.d them is the petiole colour. It is quite obvious once you see it. cannot remember how far back that thread went.

CraigM · Post by **CraigM** » September 16th, 2016, 11:36 am

Interesting post, was about to ask the forum to help ID a fig recently added to collection. Believe this to be a PJ, the leaves do differ to another I have but is similar in pattern, could be due to lack of nutrients. Was looking at petiole, while not red is not green either. Any opinion?

Rory · Post by **Rory** » September 16th, 2016, 12:14 pm

bodhidharma wrote:This has been discussed in other threads to reach that conclusion. The way to i.d them is the petiole colour. It is quite obvious once you see it. cannot remember how far back that thread went.

Unfortunately I never found a thread stating this as the conclusion, as there are 26 pages of threads with the search words "moreton bay", and the threads usually don't state as the heading 'how to identify or tell the difference', but none of the threads I found concluded the petiole as being the key indicator as the difference between MB vs PJ. It was a nightmare for someone to try and find the answer without having at least a sticky like this thread at the top of the ficus threads.

CraigM wrote:Interesting post, was about to ask the forum to help ID a fig recently added to collection. Believe this to be a PJ, the leaves do differ to another I have but is similar in pattern, could be due to lack of nutrients. Was looking at petiole, while not red is not green either. Any opinion?

That is difficult to answer as I can see the heart shape of some of the leaves of a MB but not in others, and not the distinct blood red colour of the petiole but it isn't obviously green. Perhaps allow it to sit in full sun for a lot longer and keep an eye on the petiole over time or post more photos.

Perhaps put up a new thread for this ID as it is best to try and keep this thread only for indicators showing the difference between 2 definite known MB and PJ varieties. This way it reduces the amount of reading a user has to go through to try and identify their MB or PJ.

Unfortunately I don't grow other varieties of figs though, pretty much only PJ and MB so I don't know what to look for to identify if a fig might be something else.

I would show more photos from a bit further back as well to get a view of the whole picture too and to show more photos of the leaves. You can often have random leaves that do not resemble the majority of the leaves, but with only 1 photo angle it doesn't quite give the picture of what all the leaves are doing.

CraigM · Post by **CraigM** » September 16th, 2016, 3:04 pm

Thanks Rory, will start a new thread don't want to deviate away from the topic. Thanks for response.

reidy320 · Post by **reidy320** » September 16th, 2016, 3:49 pm

m. bay.jpg

guess there can be some confusion to this method, newly sprouted leaves on the MB's will have green petioles until they turn red.
Just looked at mine and

but looked a bit closer and I can see the mid rib starting to turn.
This leaf popped three days ago, so it will be interesting to see how long it takes to get full colour into it
cheers Scott.