Ficus racemosa (syn. Ficus glomerata Roxb.) is a species of plant in the Moraceae family. Popularly known as the Cluster Fig Tree, Indian Fig Tree or Goolar (Gular) Fig, this is native to Australia, Malesia, South-East Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. It is unusual in that its figs grow on or close to the tree trunk, termed cauliflory. In India the tree and its fruit are called gular in the north and atti in the south. The fruits are a favourite staple of the common Indian macaque.
It serves as a food plant for the caterpillars of the butterfly the Two-brand Crow (Euploea sylvester) of northern Australia.
In ancient times both Hindu and Buddhist ascetics on their way to Taxila, (Original name is Taksha Sila) travelling through vast areas of Indian forests used to consume the fruit during their travels. One challenge to vegetarians were the many fig wasps that one finds when opening a gular fig. One way to get rid of them was to break the figs into halves or quarters, discard most of the seeds and then place the figs into the midday sun for an hour. Gular fruit are almost never sold commercially because of this problem.
The bark of Audumbar/Oudumbar tree is said to have healing power. In countries like India, the bark is rubbed on a stone with water to make a paste and the paste is applied over the skin which is afflicted by boils or mosquito bites. Allow the paste to dry on the skin and reapply after a few hours. For people whose skin is especially sensitive to insect bites; this is a very simple home remedy.
(Text courtesy: www.wikipedia.com)
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