Fig Tree

The common fig, Ficus carica, is a deciduous tree or shrub in the mulberry family, Moraceae. It is native from the eastern Mediterranean to Central Asia and the western Himalayas, and it has been cultivated in many other warm regions. Its large leaves usually have three to five deep lobes and a rough surface. What we call a fig is not a simple fruit but a fleshy structure called a syconium, whose many tiny flowers develop inside a hollow cavity.

A small opening, the ostiole, allows pollinating fig wasps to enter. Depending on the variety and growing conditions, fig trees may produce one or more crops each year, with fruits that can ripen in shades of green, purple or brown. Fig trees have a remarkable relationship with fig wasps. In populations that depend on pollination, the female wasp enters the syconium through the ostiole, pollinates flowers and lays eggs in some of them.

The developing wasps later leave the fig, carrying pollen to another tree. This close partnership is an example of mutualism, although cultivated figs differ in their dependence on wasp pollination. Fig trees are also important food plants: their ripe figs are eaten fresh or dried and are used in jams, pastries and other foods. The plant produces a milky latex that can irritate the skin, especially in sunlight.

Fig trees are valued for their fruit, shade and cultural history, and they have been cultivated for thousands of years. Their long association with people has made the fig an important plant in many Mediterranean and Middle Eastern traditions.