Ficus opposita

Common Names: Bird’s eye sandpaper fig, Sweet sandpaper fig

Bird’s eye sandpaper fig is a top-tier Australian native bush tucker plant that grows beautifully in a Perth garden.

It is famous for producing small figs that are widely considered the absolute best tasting of all the native Australian figs. The fruit turns from green to yellow, then reddish-brown, and finally a deep purple-black when perfectly ripe. The flesh is incredibly soft, sweet, and fragrant, making it a treat to pluck right off the branches or blend into home cooking.

Features:

Ideal prune height range: 3-5m to keep it a dense shrub, but can reach 6-8m as a small tree.

pH growing conditions: 6.0 to 7.5

Shade or full sun: Full sun to part shade.

Minimum pot year 5: 60L pot

Time to fruit age: 1-3 years from a young plant.

These trees are very hardy and handle the dry Perth heat well once their roots are established. The leaves have an incredibly rough texture that was traditionally used like sandpaper to polish wood tools. It has a less aggressive root system than giant exotic figs, but you should still give it space in the ground or grow it in a big pot.

Interesting Notes:

Ficus oppositaà vs Ficus coronata

Ficus opposita is the sweet sandpaper fig, while Ficus coronata is the creek sandpaper fig. Coronata is the common one found in most Perth nurseries.

Ficus opposita has leaves that grow opposite each other on the stem, and it bears fruit heavily for most of the year. The fruit is soft, dark black, and famous for being intensely sweet and fragrance-rich.

Ficus coronata has alternate leaves that are distinctly lopsided at the base. It usually fruits only from January to June, and its figs are covered in dense hairs, giving them a fuzzier texture compared to the smoother, sweeter fruits of Ficus opposita.

Unlike some native fruits that need a mate, this selection is monoecious, meaning you only need one single tree to get a bumper crop of sweet figs.

The rough leaves are also known in traditional medicine to help treat skin issues like tinea.

Limited stock. Pickup from Parkwood, WA. Delivery to Perth Metro only.

Keywords: Ficus opposita, Bird’s eye sandpaper fig, sweet sandpaper fig, native bush tucker, rare fruit tree Perth, exotic fruit tree, edible native plant