Editing Ficus macrophylla (section)

==Distribution and habitat==
[[File:Ficus macrophylla - Alstonville.jpg|thumb|Emergent Moreton Bay fig ''[[in situ]]'', estimated 50 metres tall, [[Davis Scrub Nature Reserve]], [[Australia]]]]
The Moreton Bay fig is a native of eastern coastal Australia, from the [[Wide Bay–Burnett]] region in central Queensland,<ref name=dixon01/> to the [[Shoalhaven River]] on the [[New South Wales]] south coast.<ref name=Fairley>{{cite book |first1=Alan | last1=Fairley |last2=Moore |first2=Philip |title=Native Plants of the Sydney District: An Identification Guide |year=2000 |edition= 2nd|publisher=Kangaroo Press |page=62|location=Kenthurst, New South Wales |isbn=978-0-7318-1031-4}}</ref> It is found in subtropical, warm temperate, and dry rainforest,<ref name="Boland">{{cite book|author1=Boland, Douglas J. |author2=Brooker, M. I. H. |author3=Chippendale, G. M. |author4=McDonald, Maurice William |title=Forest Trees of Australia |publisher=CSIRO Publishing |location=Collingwood, Victoria |year=2006 |pages=193–95 |isbn=978-0-643-06969-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q2v3kb9tFsYC&pg=PA194}}</ref> where, as an [[Rainforest#Emergent layer|emergent]] tree, its crown may tower above the canopy,<ref name=Fairley/> particularly along watercourses on [[Alluvium|alluvial]] soils. In the Sydney region, ''F. macrophylla'' grows from sea level to {{convert|300|m|ft|abbr=off}} altitude, in areas with an average yearly rainfall of {{convert|1200-1800|mm|in|abbr=on|sigfig=2}}.<ref name=Benson1997/>

It often grows with trees such as white booyong (''[[Argyrodendron trifoliolatum]]''), ''[[Flindersia]]'' species, giant stinging tree (''[[Dendrocnide excelsa]]''), lacebark (''[[Brachychiton discolor]]''), red cedar (''[[Toona ciliata]]''), hoop pine (''[[Araucaria cunninghamii]]''), green-leaved fig (''[[Ficus watkinsiana]]'') and ''[[Cryptocarya obovata]]''.<ref name="Boland"/> The soils it grows on are high in nutrients and include Bumbo [[Latite]] and [[Budgong Sandstone]].<ref name=Benson1997>{{cite journal |author1=Benson, Doug |author2=McDougall, Lyn |year=1997 |title=Ecology of Sydney Plant Species Part 5: Dicotyledon Families Flacourtiaceae to Myrsinaceae |journal=Cunninghamia |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=330–544 [523] |url=https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/RoyalBotanicGarden/media/RBG/Science/Cunninghamia/Volume%205%20-%201997/Volume-5(2)-1997-Cun5Ben330-544.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223140112/https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/RoyalBotanicGarden/media/RBG/Science/Cunninghamia/Volume%205%20-%201997/Volume-5%282%29-1997-Cun5Ben330-544.pdf |archive-date=23 December 2015 }}</ref> As rainforests were cleared, isolated specimens were left standing in fields as remnant trees,<ref name=fuller/> valued for their shade and shelter for livestock.<ref name=EJ15>{{cite book |author1=Elliot, Rodger W. |author2=Jones, David L. |author3=Blake, Trevor |title=Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation: Volume 4 (Eu-Go)|year=1986|pages=280, 286 |publisher=Lothian Press |location=Port Melbourne, Victoria |isbn=978-0-85091-589-1}}</ref> One such tree was a landmark for and gave its name to the [[Wollongong]] suburb of [[Figtree, New South Wales|Figtree]] in New South Wales.<ref name=fuller>{{cite book|last=Fuller|first=Leon|title=Wollongong's Native Trees|publisher=Weston & Co.|location=Kiama, New South Wales|year=1980|isbn=978-0-9594711-0-6|pages=218–19}}</ref>
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