Ficus polita trunk

The straight, erect trunk of this Ficus polita tree growing in Kirstenbosch is fairly smooth and pale grey-brown in colour. The bark flakes in small sections from the trunk that tends to buttress in large specimens. The upper parts of spreading roots already bulge above-ground in the photo. Air roots, red-brown and stringy, are present upon and around the stem.

Young trees of this species are sometimes planted closely together in parts of Africa to form living hedges (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Pooley, 1993; Wikipedia).