Shortleaf fig

A fig tree with a beard of aerial roots – it was this tree that led Portuguese sailors to name the island “Os Barbados”, “the bearded ones”.

A large tree of the mulberry family that often begins life as an epiphyte on another tree or a rock, eventually wrapping its host in roots. Dense bunches of thin aerial roots hang from its branches like a beard; once they reach the ground they thicken and help prop up the crown. Its small, round figs are an important food for birds and bats, and they are pollinated by tiny, specialised fig wasps. It grows in moist forests, ravines and on limestone rocks.

Significance in the country

According to tradition, Portuguese sailors in the 16th century, seeing trees hung with roots like beards, named the island “Os Barbados”; the bearded fig tree is now the centrepiece of the national coat of arms.

Where it grows

Across the whole island, most abundant in deep, moist limestone gullies – including Welchman Hall Gully and Jack-in-the-Box Gully in Saint Thomas – and in Turner’s Hall Wood in Saint Andrew.

More: Wikipedia (en)