In this work the leaf anatomy of three species of Ficus section Americanae (Miq.) Miq. from Brazil, whose leaves and latex are used in folk medicine is reported. The work was carried out using light and scanning electron microscopy in order to characterize these species and to evaluate their taxonomic significance, and also contribute to the quality control of their ethnodrugs. The three species (Ficus cyclophylla, Ficus elliotiana, and Ficus caatingae) showed hypostomatic leaves, anomocytic stomata, straight epidermal cell outlines, and a dorsiventral mesophyll. Some micro-morphological characters such as density and distribution of epicuticular waxes, glandular trichomes, the length and width of stomata, as well as the palisade of mesophyll and petiole outlines proved to be the most useful and distinctive characters for the separation of species. These may contribute as additional support for the taxonomy of the section and for the quality control of their ethnodrugs.

Dorstenia, the second largest genus (105 species) within the Moraceae, is the only genus in the family with woody, herbaceous and succulent species. All but one species of Dorstenia are restricted to the Neotropics or Africa, and it is the only genus in the family with an almost equal transatlantic distribution. This work presents the first molecular phylogeny and the first evolutionary study to examine origin and diversification within the genus. We inferred the phylogeny with ITS sequence data using Bayesian and maximum likelihood approaches. We tracked the evolution of distinct morphological characters and tested for correlated evolution in multiple characters. Time and place of Dorstenia’s origin were estimated to test a post-Gondwanan versus a Gondwanan origin hypothesis using fossil calibrations, Bayesian molecular dating, and maximum likelihood-based ancestral range reconstructions. Our phylogenetic analysis supports the monophyly of Dorstenia; previous subgeneric classifications are polyphyletic and must be re-evaluated. Woody habit, phanerophytic life form, macrospermy, and lack of storage organs are ancestral traits found in African Dorstenia. Evolution of woodiness and macrospermy are correlated. Dorstenia appears to have originated in Africa, radiated into the Neotropics and subsequently re-colonised Africa. Whether or not the extant distribution is the result of vicariance or dispersal is equivocal.

The importance of figs as keystone resources depends partly on their year-round fruiting pattern. However, most non-equatorial fig species show seasonality in reproductive phenology. If fig and other species' fruiting peaks coincide, the importance of figs as key resources during lean fruiting periods may be reduced. Fig and other forest tree phenology was studied in a deciduous and an evergreen site in the Western Ghats, southern India, from January 1991 to May 1992. In the deciduous site, most non-fig flowering and leaf flushing occurred during the two dry seasons, while most fruiting occurred during the dry and early wet seasons. In the evergreen site, all non-fig tree phenological stages – flowering, fruiting and leaf flushing – were concentrated during the two dry seasons annually (dry and post-monsoon). Individual fig trees produced crops one to three times annually, at different times of the year for different trees. Fig community fruiting peaks in the evergreen site coincided with fruiting peaks of the other forest trees, but in the deciduous site occurred slightly offset from non-fig fruiting peaks. The role of figs as key resources is likely to differ among forests, and to depend on factors such as diversity of fruiting pattern among fig species, fig tree density and territoriality of frugivores.