Narrow-leaf fig
Ficus maclellandii
Also called Alii fig, Banana-leaf fig and Ficus binnendijkii
Houseplant · Trees & big statementsTHE FIG THAT DOES NOT SULK. Where a weeping fig drops every leaf if you move it across the room, this one shrugs — which makes it the fig to buy if the plant has to live somewhere real. Same milky sap, same gloves.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Easy
- Water
- Once a weekDrench and drain — water the whole surface until it runs from the holes.
- Light
- Bright indirect
- Feed
- Every 45 days
- Humidity
- Average
- Hardiness
- Indoors, or out for the summer RHS H1C, to 5°C
- Size
- 2 m tall · 1 m across
- Lifecycle
- Tree
- Origin
- South-East Asia
Is it safe for pets and people?
Affects dogs, cats, horses. Signs: mouth irritation, drooling, vomiting; the sap irritates skin. Not listed under its own name — this follows Ficus benjamina, which is.
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
ASPCA does not name this species. It lists Ficus benjamina — the weeping fig in this same file — as toxic to dogs, cats and horses, and the milky sap that causes it is a property of the whole genus, so the warning is carried across.
Checked against ASPCA on 2026-09-22.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- A scatter of leaves on the floor within a week of being moved. Far milder in this fig than in a weeping fig — it usually stops within a fortnight, and moving it back does more harm than leaving it.Leaf drop after a move · disorder
- Sticky shine on the leaves and the floor beneath, with flat brown discs along the undersides of the ribs.Scale insect · pest