Ficus platyphylla is a deciduous tree within the family Moraceae. Common local names include Gamji in Hausa and Gaba or Kobo in Bambara. It is native to western and eastern tropical Africa.
Description Species grows up to tall, the crown is large and spreading while the bark is pale brown with scales and fissures, the species sometimes grows as an Epiphyte. Leaves, alternate, petioles and stipules are present; leaflets are ovate to elliptic in outline, up to long and wide. The fruits are globose in shape, reddish and small, usually between in diameter, they are arranged in clusters of 15 in leaf axils on peduncles that can reach in length.
Distribution and habitat Commonly found in the savanna regions of West and East Africa south of the Sahara and north of the equatorial rainforests, ranging from Senegal eastwards to Somalia.
Uses The species is used as an antidote to poison in different cultures. In Nigeria, the stem bark extracts of the plant is used in ethnomedicine to treat a variety of ailments including depression, epilepsy and psychosis. It is also used to expel parasitic worms from the body.
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