Trilepisium, the urnfigs or false-figs, is a small Afrotropical genus of plants in family Moraceae. They grow to medium-sized or large trees that occur in evergreen and semi-deciduous forests, flooded forests or forest patches and often along rivers and streams, and at elevations of up to 2,000 m and over.
The bole may be 60 cm wide, and is often fluted at the base.[1] The smooth, grey bark is very lenticellate[2] and exudes a cream-coloured latex when damaged. The yellowish to pinkish slash turns purple-red as it dries.[2] They usually branch high up to form a small and loosely pyramidal crown[1] with drooping twigs. Stipules of terminal buds eventually leave annular scars.[2]
The glossy and very dark elliptic leaves have a prominent driptip, and measure up to 14 cm long. They are glossy below, and have two small lobes at the base.[2]
The flowers appear in spring and are arranged in a whitish to mauve puff.[3] The puff is about 1 cm in diameter, and consists of staminate male flowers and pistillate female flowers, without perianths,[3] which obscure the view of the receptacle.[4] The flowers protrude from the open apex of an urn-shaped receptacle which is about 1.5 cm long.
The fig-like fruit, embedded in the fleshy receptacles, are some 2 cm long.[3] They are ellipsoidal in shape and hold a nutlet each.[2] Ripe fruit have the appearance of blue plums.[2]
The two species are distinguished on floral characteristics:[5]
The wood of T. madagascariense is suitable for furniture, and the sap yields a red dye. Its roasted seeds are eaten and it is sometimes cultivated.[1] A methanol extract, fractions and isoliquiritigenin from T. madagascariense stem bark has been shown to possess antidiarrheal activities,[6] and previously unknown trilepisflavan and trilepisuimic acid compounds were isolated from it in 2012.[7] Trilepisium madagascariense is a larval foodplant for the butterfly Cyrestis camillus sublineata.[8] On the Seychelles the seeds are likely dispersed by frugivorous birds and fruit bats, but the pollinators are unknown.[5]