Figs 

Figs (Ficus) are a genus in the mulberry family (Moraceae). With over 800 species (Veberic, 2016), it's unclear how many species of fig inhabit the Amazon rainforest.

Figs have a unique inflorescence (grouping of flowers) and infructescence (grouping of fruit). Historically, figs were believed not to produce flowers (Shanahan, 2016). The truth is that their flowers are hard to distinguish from their fruits. Fig inflorescences have flowers on the inside, with tiny openings pollinated by fig wasps. These wasps lay their eggs inside the inflorescence, which then transforms into an infructescence (the transformation is difficult or impossible to observe externally). The fruits we commonly recognize as figs are actually infructescences.

Fig wasp larvae eat some of the fruits within the infructescence and emerge through a tiny hole, dusted with pollen. Because of this unique pollination system, fig species do not have specific times for flowering and fruiting. Instead, different individuals flower and fruit at different times, ensuring that fruiting fig plants are available year-round. This continuous fruit availability sustains many fruit-eating animals in the Amazon rainforest (Shanahan, 2016). These animals, in turn, are important for seed dispersal, making figs crucial for maintaining the rainforest ecosystem.

Strangler figs are particularly significant. They start as epiphytes (non-parasitic plants attached to trees), grow roots down to the forest floor, and become lianas (woody vines). Eventually, they encase and choke off their host tree, which decomposes, leaving the strangler fig as a free-standing structure (Shanahan, 2016). Strangler figs provide homes for many rainforest animals, making them arguably the most important plants in the Amazon.

References

Veberic, Robert. Mikulic-Petkovsec, Maja. (2016) Phytochemical Composition of Common Fig (Ficus carica L.) Cultivars Nutritional Composition of Fruit Cultivars

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/ficus

Shanahan, Mike (November 15, 2016) Gods Wasps and Stranglers The Secret History and Redemptive Future of Fig Trees