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The Story of Fig Trees Is the Story of Us
A quick tour of what makes fig trees so important, as a preview of what kinds of stories I will be sharing at Planet Ficus
May 1, 2025
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Mike Shanahan
42
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11
Where Thousands Share Wishes With a Fig Tree
How hopes cast into branches have reshaped a village
Feb 19
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Mike Shanahan
5
2
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Mysterious Little Beings Really Do Live In Hawaiian Fig Trees
The menehune of legend may not live in fig trees — but something just as elusive and enigmatic does.
Feb 7
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Mike Shanahan
13
2
7
Most Popular
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India's Mother of Trees Leaves A Living Legacy
Nov 15, 2025
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Mike Shanahan
22
5
9
Stone-making Fig Trees Offer Surprising Climate Solution
Jul 6, 2025
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Mike Shanahan
14
17
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How Respect for Spirits in Strangler Figs Benefits People and Biodiversity in Borneo
Oct 18, 2025
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Mike Shanahan
16
6
7
Mysterious Little Beings Really Do Live In Hawaiian Fig Trees
Feb 7
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Mike Shanahan
13
2
7
Figs, Forests and the Fight for People-Focused Conservation
Jan 24
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Mike Shanahan
11
9
3
India's Sacred Fig Trees Are Crucial For Biodiversity Conservation
May 21, 2025
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Mike Shanahan
11
2
7
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Planet Ficus Monthly Roundup #9
Living bridges. Flying foxes. Tennis superstar. Lost temple. Animated banyan. Primate ladders.
Feb 5
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Mike Shanahan
3
3
3
Figs, Forests and the Fight for People-Focused Conservation
How India’s pre-eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil followed fig trees from sacred groves to a radical vision for governing forests.
Jan 24
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Mike Shanahan
11
9
3
Houses of Spirits, Wives of Timber Trees
Two tales from Papua New Guinea explain how strangler figs became feared, respected and remembered.
Jan 20
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Mike Shanahan
7
5
4
Planet Ficus Monthly Roundup #8
Snakebite remedies. Aphrodisiac figs. A giant bonsai. Pests in a changing climate. A Brazilian treehouse. A golden Buddha. Edison's fig trees.
Jan 5
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Mike Shanahan
6
2
True Or False? Figs Contain Dead Wasps
The answer may surprise you.
Dec 17, 2025
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Mike Shanahan
7
4
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The Magic Of Tropical Forests And The Fig Trees That Live In Them
I’m sharing an interview I did a while back with Michael Metivier of Chelsea Green Publishing (CGP) — which published my book: Gods, Wasps and…
Dec 16, 2025
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Mike Shanahan
7
2
Planet Ficus Monthly Roundup #7
Nature's first responders. Help for hornbills. India's fig tree defenders. A contentious tree in a Kenya.
Dec 4, 2025
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Mike Shanahan
6
4
3
How Strangler Figs Drew One Man Into the Rainforest Canopy and Changed His Life Forever
In 2016, Tim Laman won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award for an image that feels almost impossible: an orangutan scaling the pillar root of a…
Dec 2, 2025
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Mike Shanahan
7
3
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The Fight for Fig Trees on India's Death-Trap Lane
Lives end suddenly and often on National Highway 163 in the Indian state of Telangana.
Nov 22, 2025
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Mike Shanahan
7
7
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Planet Ficus
Astounding stories of how fig trees shaped humanity and the world about us.
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