Umuvumu (Wild Fig)
Ficus thonningii
A large, sacred fig traditionally planted around Rwandan homesteads and royal burial grounds, where it is known as 'ikigabiro'. Its bark was once beaten into impuzu cloth, and its leaves are still browsed by livestock.
- Kinyarwanda name
- Umuvumu
- English name
- Wild Fig
- Scientific name
- Ficus thonningii
- Family
- Moraceae
Habitat
Homesteads, royal sites, and forest margins across Rwanda.
Distribution
Widespread across tropical and subtropical Africa.
Uses
Bark historically used to make impuzu cloth; carved bowls, mortars and stools from the trunk; leaves as livestock fodder; traditional remedy for diarrhoea, gonorrhea and diabetes.
Ecological importance
A keystone fig — its fruit feeds birds, bats and primates almost year-round.
Ibisobanuro
Ni igiti abanyarwanda bakunda gutera ku ngo zabo, no ku mva z'abami, aho umuvumu witwa ikigabiro. Igishishwa cy'igiti bagikoragamo impuzu bambaraga. Amababi agaburira amatungo mu gihe cy'impeshi.