Ficus rubiginosa, the Port Jackson fig, is a species of flowering plant native to eastern Australia. Beginning as a seedling that grows on other plants (hemiepiphyte) or rocks (lithophyte), it matures into a tree 30 m (100 ft) high and nearly as wide with a yellow-brown buttressed trunk. The leaves are oval and glossy green and measure from 4 to 19.3 cm (1 1⁄2–7 1⁄2 in) long and 1.25 to 13.2 cm (1⁄2–5 1⁄4 in) wide. The fruits are small, round and yellow, and can ripen and turn red at any time of year, peaking in spring and summer. The fruit is known as a syconium, an inverted inflorescence with the flowers lining an internal cavity. F. rubiginosa is exclusively pollinated by the fig wasp species Pleistodontes imperialis. Many species of bird, including pigeons and parrots, eat the fruit. Ranging along the Australian east coast from Queensland to Bega in southern New South Wales, F. rubiginosa grows in rainforest margins and rocky outcrops. It is used as a shade tree in parks and public spaces, and when potted is well-suited for use as an indoor plant or in bonsai.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficus_rubiginosa

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1657:

Citizens of New Netherland presented the Flushing Remonstrance to Director-General Peter Stuyvesant, requesting an exemption to his ban on Quaker worship. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flushing_Remonstrance

1831:

Aboard HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin left Plymouth, England, on what became a historic expedition to South America that made his name as a naturalist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_voyage_of_HMS_Beagle

1916:

German Togoland, occupied by the Allies in World War I, was partitioned between Britain and France. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Togoland

1966:

The Cave of Swallows, the largest known cave shaft in the world, in Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, Mexico, was first descended. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_Swallows

2007:

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto was assassinated while she was leaving a political rally of Pakistan Peoples Party supporters at Liaquat National Bagh in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Benazir_Bhutto

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

spuriosity: 1. (rare) Spuriousness. 2. (rare) That which is spurious; something false or illegitimate. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spuriosity

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

If we have faith in each other Then we can be Strong, baby I will be your father figure Put your tiny hand in mine I will be your preacher teacher Anything you have in mind I will be your father figure I have had enough of crime I will be the one who loves you … 'Til the end of time.   --George Michael https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Michael