Frequently asked questions

The scientific name of gular is Ficus racemosa L., in the fig and mulberry family (Moraceae). Many older Indian books call it Ficus glomerata, which Kew's World Checklist (read via GBIF) treats as a synonym of the same species.

In English gular is called the cluster fig, because its figs grow in clusters on the trunk; it is also called country fig. In Sanskrit it is udumbara, in Marathi umbar and in Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam atti (Flowers of India).

A gular tree is a medium to large fig tree with a crooked trunk, a broad spreading crown and bunches of round figs growing straight from the trunk and thick branches. Flora of China describes pointed leaves about 10-14 cm long and pear-shaped figs 2-2.5 cm across that turn reddish orange when ripe. Unlike the banyan it has no hanging aerial roots, and cut twigs bleed white milky sap.

Nobody sees the gular flower because the flowers grow inside the fig, not on the outside. Each fig is a hollow pouch lined with hundreds of tiny flowers, and very small fig wasps crawl in through a tiny opening at its tip to pollinate them (Flowers of India). That is why "गूलर का फूल" became a Hindi saying for something very rare.

Gular is found in almost every part of India where the ground stays moist: beside rivers, streams, canals and ponds, in moist forests and around villages and temples. In Rajasthan, Plants of Rajasthan records it growing naturally in eastern and southern districts such as Jaipur, Ajmer, Kota, Bundi, Udaipur and Sawai Madhopur, not in the Thar desert.

Plant a healthy nursery sapling about 1 m tall at the start of the rains, in moist, deep soil with room for a big crown. As our rule of thumb, dig a pit about 60 cm each way, refill it with soil mixed with well-rotted manure, plant at the depth it stood in the bag, make a basin and fit a tree guard. Keep it about 10-12 m from other big trees; that is a rule of thumb, not a safe distance from buildings, so ask your local forest or horticulture office. Growing from seed is slow and uncertain: in a Kerala study (Mathew and colleagues, 2011) only 5% of untreated seed germinated, so a nursery sapling is the easier start.

Plant gular with the monsoon, mostly in July or August, once the rains have properly wetted the soil in your district; these months are a guide. On the Tamil Nadu coast, where the main rains come with the north-east monsoon, October-November also works. Avoid the hot, dry months of April to June.

Gular usually bears two crops of figs a year: eFlora of India gives, for Delhi, one in March-April and another in the rains, and a Kerala study (Mathew and colleagues, 2011) recorded ripe figs in June-July and December-January. In that study the seedlings grew fast and were ready to transplant at 7-8 months. How many years a young tree takes to give its first figs is not well documented.

Only for a short time: gular grows into a large tree, roughly 15-20 m tall, so a pot suits a young plant waiting to be planted out, not a permanent home. We found no Indian source on growing gular in containers. If you want one at home, plant it in the ground where it has room, near water if your area is dry.

Its toxicity is not well documented: we found no poison-centre or government data on gular for people. As in other figs, the milky sap can irritate the skin, so wear gloves when pruning and keep sap out of the eyes. The ASPCA lists fig plants (Ficus species) in general as toxic to dogs, cats and horses, so keep pets from chewing it and call a doctor or vet if anyone eats part of it and feels unwell.