Ficus macrophylla is widely used as a feature tree in public parks and gardens in warmer climates such as California, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Malta, northern New Zealand (Auckland), and Australia.

[9] The Lord Howe form of Moreton Bay fig has a habit of dropping aerial roots from its branches, which upon reaching the ground, thicken into supplementary trunks which help to support the weight of its crown.

The figs are 2–2.5 cm (0.8–1 in) in diameter, turning from green to purple with lighter spots as they ripen;[6] ripe fruit may be found year-round,[9] although they are more abundant from February to May.

[13] As indicated by its specific epithet, it has large, elliptic, leathery, dark green leaves, 15–30 cm (6–12 in) long, and they are arranged alternately on the stems.

[16] The specific epithet macrophylla is derived from the Ancient Greek makros "large" and phyllon "leaf",[17] and refers to the size of the leaves.

[7] In the early 19th century, Italian botanist Vincenzo Tineo of the Orto botanico di Palermo in Sicily obtained a plant from a French nursery that grew to a prodigious size with a banyan habit.

A later director of the gardens, Antonino Borzì, described it as Ficus magnolioides in 1897, distinguishing it from F. macrophylla on account of its larger leaves with greener undersides.

[22] In a 2008 study on DNA sequences from the nuclear ribosomal internal and external transcribed spacers, Danish botanist Nina Rønsted and colleagues rejected previous subdivisions of the Malvanthera.

[9] It is found in subtropical, warm temperate, and dry rainforest,[24] where, as an emergent tree, its crown may tower above the canopy,[9] particularly along watercourses on alluvial soils.

In the Sydney region, F. macrophylla grows from sea level to 300 m (1000 ft) altitude, in areas with an average yearly rainfall of 1,200–1,800 mm (47–71 in).

[25] As rainforests were cleared, isolated specimens were left standing in fields as remnant trees,[26] valued for their shade and shelter for livestock.

[26] The huge numbers of fruit produced by the Moreton Bay fig make it a key source of food in the rainforest.

Grubs hatch from eggs laid on the edges of leaves and burrow into the leaf to suck nutrients, the tree's latex shielding the insect.

[9] Ficus macrophylla is monoecious—both male and female flowers are found on the same plant, and, in fact, in the same fruit, although they mature at different times.

The females of the new generation collect pollen from the male flowers, which have matured by this point, and leave to visit other syconia and repeat the process.

A field study in Brisbane found that F. macrophylla trees often bore both male and female syconia at the same time—which could be beneficial for reproduction in small, isolated populations such as those on islands.

The same study found that male phase syconia development persisted through the winter, showing that its wasp pollinator tolerated cooler weather than those of more tropical fig species.

The size and vigour of this fig in New Zealand, and its lack of natural enemies, as well as its immunity to possum browsing, indicate that it may be able to invade forest and other native plant communities.

[39] The Moreton Bay fig has been widely used in public parks in frost-free areas, and was popular with early settlers of Australia.

[8] Around the beginning of the 20th century, the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Joseph Maiden, advocated the planting of street trees, generally uniform rows of the one species.

He recommended Moreton Bay figs be spaced at 30 m (100 ft) intervals—far enough to avoid crowding as the trees matured, but close enough so that their branches would eventually interlock.

However, their huge size precludes use in all but the largest gardens, and their roots are highly invasive and can damage piping and disrupt footpaths and roadways; the vast quantities of crushed fruit can be messy on the ground.

[43] Large specimens of Moreton Bay fig trees are found in many parks and properties throughout eastern and northeastern Australia.

[47] The Moreton Bay fig was introduced into cultivation into California in the United States in the 1870s, 13 specimens being classified as Exceptional Trees of Los Angeles in 1980.

[53] Two South African specimens, in the Arderne Gardens in Claremont and the Pretoria Zoo respectively, have the widest and second-widest canopies of any single-stemmed trees in the country.

[56] Ficus macrophylla has been used in public spaces in Palermo in Sicily, with impressive specimens found in the Orto Botanico, the gardens of the Villa Garibaldi, Giardino Inglese, and in some squares.