Figs

Definition: Figs are all plants of the genus Ficus, in the family Moraceae (Mulberry). Ficus plants are numerous containing approximately 750 species of fig trees and 150 shrubs and vines.

Ficus carica, the common fig, has been cultivated for its fruit and produced commercially.

The fig is native to western Asia and was later transplanted to the Mediterranean area. Areas in which the fig has been cultivated include Europe, North Africa, England, Mexico and the United States.

Common Fig Biology:

• Leaves: Large, single green leaves that are rough and hairy on the top side and soft and hairy on the underside.
  
  
• Flowers: Arranged in clusters and located inside a fruit-like structure called the synconium. The synconium has a small, scale-covered opening called an ostiole.
  
  
• Fruit: Mature fruit can be green, brown or purple in color. The peel is tough with a white inner rind. The pulp is a mass of seeds that are typically hollow unless pollinated.
  
  
• Pollination: Common fig flowers are female and require no pollination.

Other Figs:

• Caprifig: contains male and female flowers and must be pollinated by the fig wasp (Blastophaga grossorum).
  
  
• Smyrna fig: Depends on cross-pollination by caprifigs. Wasps emerge from the caprifigs and pollinate the Smyrna fig plants. Wasps cannot deposit young in the fruit because the styles are too long.
  
  
• San Pedro fig: First crops are similar to common figs in that no pollination is required. The second crop depends on wasp pollination, as does the Smyrna fig.