[3] It is found in Asia, Malesia, northern Australia, and the South Pacific islands.

Root systems of dye fig can come together to be self sustaining but the epiphyte usually falls if the host tree dies or rots away.

[5] In Australia it is recorded as a medium-sized tree with smooth, oval green leaves.

[6] The small rust brown fruit of the dye fig are the source of a red dye used in traditional fabric making in parts of Oceania and Indonesia.

The fruit is also edible and constitute as a major food source in the low-lying atolls of Micronesia and Polynesia.