Editing Ficus macrophylla (section)

===Reproduction and life span===
[[File:Pleistodontes froggatti female.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Pleistodontes froggatti]]'', the [[fig wasp]] that pollinates the Moreton Bay fig]]
Figs have an obligate [[Mutualism (biology)|mutualism]] with fig wasps (Agaonidae); figs are pollinated only by fig wasps, and fig wasps can reproduce only in fig flowers. Generally, each fig species depends on a single species of wasp for pollination. The wasps are similarly dependent on their fig species to reproduce. The mainland and Lord Howe populations of the Moreton Bay fig are both pollinated by ''[[Pleistodontes froggatti]]''.<ref name=dixon01/><ref name = Vaamonde2002>{{cite journal | last = Lopez-Vaamonde | first = Carlos |author2=Dale J. Dixon |author3=James M. Cook |author4=Jean-Yves Rasplus | year = 2002 | title = Revision of the Australian species of ''Pleistodontes'' (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae) fig-pollinating wasps and their host-plant associations | journal = Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society | volume = 136 | issue = 4 | pages = 637–83 | doi = 10.1046/j.1096-3642.2002.00040.x | doi-access = free }}</ref>

As is the case with all figs, the fruit is an inverted [[inflorescence]] known as a [[syconium]], with tiny flowers arising from the inner surface.<ref name=Fairley/> ''Ficus macrophylla'' is [[Plant reproductive morphology#Terminology|monoecious]]—both male and female flowers are found on the same plant, and, in fact, in the same fruit, although they mature at different times. Female wasps enter the syconium and lay eggs in the female flowers as they mature. These eggs later hatch and the progeny mate. The females of the new generation collect pollen from the male flowers, which have matured by this point, and leave to visit other syconia and repeat the process. A field study in Brisbane found that ''F. macrophylla'' trees often bore both male and female syconia at the same time—which could be beneficial for reproduction in small, isolated populations such as those on islands. The same study found that male phase syconia development persisted through the winter, showing that its wasp pollinator tolerated cooler weather than those of more tropical fig species. ''F. macrophylla'' itself can endure cooler climates than other fig species.<ref name=mcpherson05>{{Cite journal | last1 = McPherson | first1 = John R. | title = Phenology of Six ''Ficus'' L., Moraceae, Species and its Effects on Pollinator Survival, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | doi = 10.1111/j.1745-5871.2005.00329.x | journal = Geographical Research | volume = 43 | issue = 3 | pages = 297–305 | year = 2005 }}</ref> Moreton Bay fig trees live for over 100 years in the wild.<ref name=Benson1997/>