Abstract:

The caloric values and ash contents in the leaves of ten Ficus species (F. benjamina, F. microcarpa cv. golden leaves, F. concinna, F. laco, F. virens, F. elastica, F. elastica var. variegata, F. religiosa, F. auriculata, F. carica) at Xiamen Botanical Garden in spring and autumn were measured in this paper. The results showed as follows: (1) Ten Ficus species had the high ash contents, with the ash contents of over 10% for F. benjamina, F. laco, F. concinna, F. microcarpa cv. golden leaves and F. carica; (2) F. virens, F. elastica and F. auriculata had the high gross caloric values (over 20.20 kJ·g^-1), F. laco, F. benjamina, F. microcarpa cv. golden leaves, F. religiosa and F. carica had the low gross caloric values (<19.00 kJ·g^-1), meanwhile, seven species had the higher gross caloric values in spring than in autumn, but three species had opposite results; (3) Gross caloric values were correlated remarkably with ash contents both in Spring (P<0.01) and Autumn (P<0.05); (4) F. virens, F. elastica and F. benjamina had the high ash free caloric values (over 22.00 kJ·g^-1), F. carica, F. religiosa and F. laco had the low ash-free caloric values (<21.0 kJ·g ^-1).

Key words: Xiamen Botanical Garden, Ficus species, Ash contents, Caloric values