Ficus vasta Forssk.

This tree is propagated by seeds and stem cuttings. Steps to follow: 1. Seed propagation: • Sow collected seeds in seed tray filled with a ratio of 3 peat moss: 1 compost, 5 cm apart. • Irrigate the seed tray three times a week. • Germination commences from 6–12 days. Seed germination of this species is low. 2. Cutting propagation: • For stem cutting propagation, use softwood, semi-hardwood and hardwood cuttings with at least 5 nodes. • For better rooting, use cutting hormone, and plant in long root trainer or pots filled with a ratio of 1 peat moss: 3 perlites: 1 compost. • Leave cutting on a bench with mist irrigation. • Stem rooting can vary from 20–37 days, with average rooting around 17%.

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Vast Fig
Taik Socotran Fig

In Omani studies: Miller & Morris (1988) wrote that: "This tree grows to a taller height than any of the other figs, indeed is one of the tallest trees of Dhofar, and its 'trunk' is broder, sometimes attaining a quite impressive girth. This huge tree is important in providing good thick shade for livestock when they seek to escape the heat of the noonday sun - indeed, it was as much apperciated for the deep shade it offered as it was for its figs, which were never as highly thought of as were those of F. sycomorus. F. vasta grows in a much wider spectrum of habitats than that fig, and is often also to be found growing in settlements, especially the more permanent stone-built ones, where it provided a shaded meeting place for the inhabitants of the village. Such trees had either been deliberately transplanted to this position, or ... the site for the settlement had been selected to be built around an already existing tree as a central focal point. These settlement shade trees were the centre of activity within a village, where most of the daylight hours were spent outside the living quarters by those whose occupations kept them within the settlement. The fruits were gathered diligently, were spread out to dry, and then stored in a dry place for future consumption. Livestock too appreciated the fallen figs. Care was taken when harvesting the fruit not to damage the tree, although this fig can withstand rougher handling than F. sycomorus, which will not regrow if carelessly or badly cut, or if too much of the foliage is roughly stripped from it [J: xort] as fodder. F. vasta was important as a source of fiber [J: sheyur]. The underbark or bast was peeiled off and put to ret down in water - ideally stagnant or saline water - for as long as possible. If left long enough, the outer bark would separate quite easily from the softer underbark. This underbark was then separated into strands and rolled and twisted into threads, which could then be plaited, or doubled and twisted again until the rope had reached the desired thickness. Finally, the rough edges were smoothed off by beating the rope along its length with a rock, which also made the strands enmesh more tightly together. Such ropes were softer to the skin than those made from the coconut fiber [J: lif] available in the coastal towns, and did not cause the same skin abrasions when used for the harness of pack animals, so they were much used in the making of the roped that held on the udder-covers [J: seher], the girths and loading tackle for the baggage camels [J: meseddet], and also for the waist strings worn by all men from babyhood [J: hoko]. Worked strands were also woven to make a firm but soft support for the baby in the cradle [J: feddet], and to make the haynet [J: ki e, kiyeb] for the pens of young stock. The strong but pliable 'roots' of the fig that grew above ground [J: ol: ebli] were used in the manufacture of the curved parts of the cradle, being first heated over the fire, and then bowed to the required shape, tied firmly into position, and left to cool. Threads made from this underbark were interwoven with threads made from the fiber of the desert palm Nannorrhops ritchieana [J: arm] to provide contrast in colour and texture. For more personal articles or to make something which was beautiful as well as practical - as a gift, for instance - a triple plait would be made of two strands of thread made from Dracaena serrulata [J: ayrob], which makes a very white threads, and one made from the under bark of this fig, which makes a dark, reddish thread. Cordage made from the fig underbark was especially highly regarded for its tensile strength and its suppleness and was used in the manufacture of the sling shots and bow strings which were mainly used in guarding the rain fed agricultural plots in the hills, and the fields around the wells on the Salalah plain from birds and other predators. The slingshot usually consisted of four or five strands joined together at the ends, a single short thread being attached to one end, and a longer thread to the other, the longer being held fast while the shorter was released to send a pebble or other projectile singing through the air. The underbark was also pulled off in strips to be chewed - it is filling and also yields a sweet, refreshing liquid. The leaves, like those of other figs, were eaten by livestock only in times of hunger, such as during the dry season preceding the monsoon rains when this and the other figs are coming into new leaf. Such fodder was mainly fed to the dry cows [J: ekebis] to keep them going until the rains, the more palatable fodders and the dried sardines being given to the milkers or those in calf. Goats in particular appreciated the new reddish growth, called [J: forog] - a name given to the new growth of all figs. The young fruit are called [J: feseget] (literally, 'spittle, saliva') because of the sticky liquid which oozes out of them as soon as they are bruised or damaged in any way. This sticky juice could be used as a depilatory, as could the resin which exudes from the tree during the midday heat. These exudations were also used as an adhesive, and were applied to the site of a snake bite. The underbark was also stripped off and worked into threads by women who then dyed them with indigo or lamp-black, and used them to bind and extend their plaits when dressing their hair. The resin [J: josot] was used as a haemostatic, and was formerly much used to treat the bleeding that followed circumcision, sometimes with added powdered indigo [J: nuz] or pulverised soft limestone [J: koso. The sap was collected and put on the fire with a little water, heated, and then strained and poured into a large or deep wound to dry it out and prevent infection. Slices cut from the under bark were used to bind a damaged or fractured limb. The juice that exudes from the under bark also has a disinfectant action and speeds up the healing process. This treatment was particularly used for fractures (both in man and in livestock) where the break has occurred below the knee, but only when the bone has not pierced the skin. In smaller livestock, a leather 'stocking' [J: ensiyot] made of two strips of leather soaked in sap from the fig was sewn tightly round the leg to act as a support while the bone knitted. The ash of the burned bark [J: kizfot etik] was used as a snuff, or to extend a limited amount of tobacco-snuff. The fresh resin was the most favoured treatment for broken skin, especially for the scalp wounds resulting from blows delivered by the knobbed club [J: tekeso], heavy staff [J: xotrok], or the throwing stick [J: ekit], - the commonest wound folloing a dispute in earlier times with such weapons. During the monsoon and early 'serb' season when the many biting insects [J: arnut, xanyut, sedhayf and others] were at their peak - small fires on the wood of this Ficus and other smoke-producing woods were lit around encampments (especially in the woodland where the insects were most prevalent) in an attempt to keep the ferocious biting flies at bay. Fires were also lit in the pens and livestock caves to de-infest the caves of ticks and fleas". (Ref. Plants of Dhofar). In addition, Ghazanfar (2003) mentioned that: "One of the largest trees in Oman. The figs are edible and also eaten by livestock. Bark, underbark and latex have been used in traditional medicine in Dhofar. The latex is used for camels to stop bleeding in wounds". (Ref. Flora of Oman; vol. 1)

*Ghazanfar, S. (2003). Flora of the Sultanate of Oman, vol.1: Piperaceae – Primulaceae. Meise, National Botanic Garden of Belgium (Scripta Botanica Begica, Vol. 25). ISBN 90-72619-55-2 ISSN 0779-2387. *Miller, A., Morris, M. (1988). Plants of Dhofar, the Southern Region of Oman: Traditional, Economic, and Medicinal Uses. Published by Office of the Adviser for Conservation of the Environment, Diwan of Royal Court, Sultanate of Oman; ISBN 10: 0715708082 ISSN 13: 9780715708088. *https://en.wikipedia.org *https://www.nparks.gov.sg *Gledhill, D. (2008). The Names of Plants. Fourth Edition. Cambridge University Press, UK. ISBN 978-0-521-86645-3 ISSN 978-0-521-68553-5. *Hammer, K. Gebauer, J. Al Khanjari, S. Buerkert, A. (2009). Oman at the cross-roads of inter-regional exchange of cultivated plants. Gene Resour Crop Evol (2009) 56:547-560. Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008. DOI 10.1007/s10722-008-9385-z. *POWO (2022). ""Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet; http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org