Kamarup / Laurel Fig
Ficus microcarpa
Also known as Chinese Banyan, Indian Laurel
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka & more
- Flowering
- March-May
How to identify Kamarup
Identify Kamarup by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a tree habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Small glossy leaves, common bonsai/hedge tree.
- Confirm leaf shape: Elliptic.
- Confirm leaf surface: Glabrous.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: March-May.
- In India, compare location records such as Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Moraceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Kamarup.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Ficus microcarpa
- Genus
- Ficus
- Family
- Moraceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Evergreen and semi-Evergreen forests, also in the plains
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Distribution
- India, Sri Lanka, China, Ryukyu Islands to New Britain
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kerala, Bihar, Delhi, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- March-May
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- EllipticrecordedWidest at the middle, tapering evenly at both ends.“The leaves are narrowly to broadly elliptic, measuring up to 12 cm (4.7 in) long by 9 cm (3.5 in) wide.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf surface
- GlabrousrecordedSmooth, hairless.“They are glabrous (without hairs) and have 5–9 pairs of main lateral veins either side of the midrib, which form distinct loops within the leaf margin.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Kamarup itself; the rest are typical of the Moraceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Catkin
- Fruit
- Drupe
Typical of the Moraceae family — flowering plants only; individual species can differ.
Local Names
- Hindi
- कामरूप Kamarup
- Nepali
- जामु Jaamu
- Tamil
- Kallichchi, ficus nitida
- Telugu
- Plaksa
- Kannada
- Peeladamara, ಪಿನಪಾಲ Pinapala, ಪಿನಿವಾಲ Pinivala
- Malayalam
- Itti, Kallithi, Ittiyali
About Kamarup
Laurel Fig (Ficus microcarpa) is a tree in the Moraceae family. In India it has been recorded in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and 15 other states. It grows in evergreen and semi-Evergreen forests, also in the plains. Flowering and fruiting run from March to May.
Uses
It is long used in traditional medicine, planted as an ornamental and valued as a shade and avenue tree. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice.
In culture
It is treated as sacred and appears in worship and carries a body of folklore around it.
Moraceae
Fig/Mulberry family
Kamarup belongs to the Moraceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Moraceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Kamarup or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides