What does ficus mean?
Ficus is the botanical name for a large genus of tropical trees, shrubs, and vines belonging to the mulberry family. Best known members include the common fig, whose fruit has been cultivated since antiquity, and popular ornamentals such as the weeping fig and the rubber plant, staples of homes and offices worldwide. In casual use, saying 'a ficus' typically evokes a leafy indoor tree in a pot rather than a fruit orchard. The word comes directly from Latin, where ficus meant simply 'fig', reflecting the Romans' long familiarity with the tree. Beyond its horticultural appeal, the genus is ecologically remarkable: many ficus species are 'strangler figs' that begin life perched on a host tree and gradually envelop it, and their figs sustain a vast range of wildlife through a unique pollination partnership with tiny fig wasps. Few plant genera are at once so domestic and so dramatic.
nounA genus of mostly tropical trees, shrubs, and vines in the mulberry family (Moraceae), which includes the fig tree and many ornamental houseplants such as the weeping fig and rubber plant.
- Any tree, shrub, or vine belonging to the genus Ficus, especially one grown ornamentally as a houseplant or landscape tree.
- The genus Ficus itself, comprising hundreds of tropical species including the edible fig.
"The lobby was brightened by a towering ficus that reached almost to the ceiling."
"She pruned her ficus carefully after it dropped half its leaves over the winter."
"In the tropics, strangler figs — a type of ficus — can eventually engulf and kill their host tree."
The regular English plural 'ficuses' is standard in general writing. In botanical contexts, writers may refer instead to 'species of Ficus' or name individual varieties rather than using a plural form.
"Two tall ficuses flanked the entrance of the hotel lobby."
That unkillable office-plant ficus in the corner? It's a cousin of the fig on your plate — and one species can strangle an entire tree to reach the sunlight.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of ficus
The word ficus comes straight from Latin, where it was the ordinary word for the fig and the fig tree. English adopted it unchanged in scientific naming when Linnaeus established the genus Ficus in the eighteenth century, and it entered general household vocabulary as ornamental fig varieties became fashionable houseplants. The Latin term itself has relatives across Romance languages, such as Italian fico and Spanish higo, while the Greek word for fig, sykon, gave English 'sycophant' and 'sycamore'.
How ficus is actually used
In everyday speech, people usually say 'fig' for the fruiting species and 'ficus tree' or name the specific variety (e.g., weeping fig, rubber plant) for ornamentals. The bare word 'ficus' most often refers to houseplants. Botanical names are capitalized and italicized when written formally, so strictly one would write Ficus benjamina, though lowercase 'ficus' is standard in general prose.
Easily confused with ficus
Focus means the center of attention or point of concentration, whereas ficus is a genus of fig-bearing tropical plants.