Editing Ficus macrophylla (section)

==Cultivation==
The Moreton Bay fig has been widely used in public parks in frost-free areas, and was popular with early settlers of Australia.<ref name=Hallstreet/> Around the beginning of the 20th century, the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, [[Joseph Maiden]], advocated the planting of street trees, generally uniform rows of the one species. He recommended Moreton Bay figs be spaced at {{convert|30|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} intervals—far enough to avoid crowding as the trees matured, but close enough so that their branches would eventually interlock.<ref name="frawley09">{{cite journal|last=Frawley|first=Jodi|year=2009|title=Campaigning for Street Trees, Sydney Botanic Gardens 1890s–1920s|journal=Environment and History|volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=303–22 |url=http://www.environmentandsociety.org/sites/default/files/key_docs/frawley-15-3.pdf |doi=10.3197/096734009x12474738199953}}</ref> Specimens can reach massive proportions, and have thrived in drier climates; impressive specimen trees have been grown in the Waring Gardens in [[Deniliquin, New South Wales|Deniliquin]], and [[Hay, New South Wales|Hay]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Australian Trees for Australian Planting |last=de Beuzeville | first= W.A.W. |year=1947 |publisher=Forestry Commission of New South Wales/ A. H. Pettifer, Government Printer |location=Sydney, New South Wales|pages=47–48}}</ref> They can withstand light frosts and can cope with salt-laden spray in coastal situations, and their fruit is beneficial for urban wildlife. However, their huge size precludes use in all but the largest gardens, and their roots are highly invasive and can damage piping and disrupt footpaths and roadways; the vast quantities of crushed fruit can be messy on the ground.<ref name=EJ15/><!-- cites previous two sentences -->

Especially due to their tendency for root buttressing, they are frequently seen as [[bonsai]], although they are much more suited to larger styles as their large leaves do not reduce much in size and their stems have long intervals (internodal spaces) between successive leaves.<ref>{{cite book |title=Bonsai with Australian native Plants |author=Koreshoff, Dorothy and Vita |year=1984 |publisher=Boolarong Publications |location=Brisbane, Queensland |isbn=978-0-908175-66-6 |page=52}}</ref> It can be used as an indoor plant in medium to brightly lit indoor spaces.<ref>{{cite book |title=Australian Native Plants for Indoors |last=Ratcliffe |first=David and Patricia|year=1987 |publisher=Little Hills Press |location=Crows Nest, New South Wales|isbn=978-0-949773-49-4 |page= 90}}</ref>

===Notable specimens===
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Large specimens of Moreton Bay fig trees are found in many parks and properties throughout eastern and northeastern Australia. The [[City Botanic Gardens|Brisbane]], [[Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria|Melbourne]], and [[Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney|Sydney]] botanic gardens contain numerous specimens planted in the middle of the 19th century, which are up to {{convert|35|m|ft|abbr=out}} tall.<ref name="EJ15" /> At [[Mount Keira]], near [[Wollongong]] there is a Moreton Bay fig measured at {{convert|58|m|ft}} tall.<ref>{{cite web|title=Moreton Bay Fig – Mount Keira|url=http://www.nationalregisterofbigtrees.com.au/listing_view.php?listing_id=397|work=National Tree Register of Big Trees|access-date=23 November 2011}}</ref> A notable tree in the Sydney suburb of [[Randwick]], the 150-year-old "Tree of Knowledge", was controversially cut down in 2016 to make way for the [[CBD and South East Light Rail]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/jul/11/historic-moreton-bay-fig-being-felled-to-make-way-for-sydney-light-rail | title=Historic Moreton Bay fig being felled to make way for Sydney light rail | date =11 July 2016 | access-date=3 April 2018 | work=The Guardian}}</ref> There are many large specimens in New Zealand. A Moreton Bay fig at [[Pahi (Northland)|Pahi]] on the [[Kaipara Harbour]], [[Northland Region|Northland]], was measured in 1984 as {{convert|26.5|m|ft}} high and {{convert|48.5|m|ft}} wide, and in 2011 had a girth of {{convert|14.8|m|ft}}.<ref>{{cite book|title=Great Trees of New Zealand |first1=S.W. | last1=Burstall |first2=E.V. | last2=Sale |year=1984 |location=Wellington, New Zealand |isbn=978-0-589-01532-9 |page=39 |publisher=Reed}}</ref>


The Moreton Bay fig was introduced into cultivation into [[California]] in the United States in the 1870s, 13 specimens being classified as Exceptional Trees of Los Angeles in 1980.<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.kcet.org/shows/lost-la/majestic-mammoths-a-brief-history-of-las-moreton-bay-fig-trees | access-date=3 April 2018 | date= 2018 | title=Majestic Mammoths: A Brief History of L.A.'s Moreton Bay Fig Trees | publisher=KCETLink (formerly Community Television of Southern California) | first=Nathan | last=Masters}}</ref> The [[Moreton Bay fig (Balboa Park)|tallest ''Ficus macrophylla'' in North America]] is adjacent to [[San Diego]]'s [[San Diego Natural History Museum|Natural History Museum]] and was planted in 1914. By 1996 it stood {{convert|23.7|m|ft}} high and the crown was {{convert|37.4|m|ft}} wide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sdnhm.org/about-us/history/museum-lore/moreton-bay-fig-tree/ |title=Moreton Bay Fig Tree |website=The Nat |publisher=San Diego Natural History Museum |access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> The widest Moreton Bay fig in North America is [[Santa Barbara's Moreton Bay Fig Tree]]. It was planted in 1876, reportedly by a young girl who was given a seedling by an Australian sailor. It measures {{convert|175|ft|m}} across.<ref name=independent>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.com/news/2011/dec/21/sb-big-trees/|title=S.B. Big Trees: The Moreton Bay Fig Tree was Planted from a Cutting from Australia|last=Hayes|first=Virginia|date=21 December 2011|work=Santa Barbara Independent|access-date=18 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140319000822/http://www.independent.com/news/2011/dec/21/sb-big-trees/|archive-date=19 March 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Aoyama Tree stands between the [[Japanese American National Museum]] and the [[Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles#The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA|Temporary Contemporary]] in downtown Los Angeles. It was planted by Buddhist Japanese Americans in the early 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tclf.org/sites/default/files/microsites/everytree/aoyama.html|title=Aoyama Tree|last=The Cultural Landscape Foundation|year=2010|work=Every Tree Tells a Story: The Cultural Landscape Foundation's 2010 Landslide |publisher=The Cultural Landscape Foundation |access-date=10 January 2012 |location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref>

Two South African specimens, in the [[Arderne Gardens]] in [[Claremont, Cape Town|Claremont]] and the [[National Zoological Gardens of South Africa|Pretoria Zoo]] respectively, have the widest and second-widest canopies of any single-stemmed trees in the country. The Pretoria specimen was planted before 1899, and was {{convert|27|m|ft}} tall with a canopy width of {{convert|43.1|m|ft}} by 2012.<ref name=jmv>{{cite news|last=Versluis |first=Jeanne-Marié |title=Reuse-vyeboom op kampioen-lys |url=http://152.111.1.88/argief/berigte/beeld/2013/01/04/B1/3/tjmvye.html |access-date=9 January 2013 |newspaper=Beeld |date=4 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150409175447/http://152.111.1.88/argief/berigte/beeld/2013/01/04/B1/3/tjmvye.html |archive-date=9 April 2015 }}</ref><ref name=schw>{{cite web |last1=Schwan |first1=Angeliné |title=Who planted this massive tree? |url=http://www.nzg.ac.za/newsletter/issues/27/05.php |website=National Zoological Gardens of South Africa |publisher=National Research Foundation |access-date=11 December 2015 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222174649/http://www.nzg.ac.za/newsletter/issues/27/05.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> There is a notable specimen sprawling on steps at the [[Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra]], Portugal.<ref>{{cite book |title=Remarkable Trees of the World |last=Pakenham |first=Thomas |year=2002 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |location=London |isbn=978-0-297-84300-9 |pages=146–47}}</ref> ''Ficus macrophylla'' has been used in public spaces in Palermo in Sicily, with impressive specimens found in the Orto Botanico, the gardens of the Villa Garibaldi, Giardino Inglese, and in some squares.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dummett|first1=Jeremy|title=Palermo, City of Kings: The Heart of Sicily|date=2015|publisher=I.B.Tauris|location=London|isbn=978-1-78453-083-9|page=218|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KqC9BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA218}}</ref>