Fig — Mediated Wiki

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant, or its fruit}} {{Other uses|Fig (disambiguation)}} {{good article}} {{Speciesbox |name = ''Ficus carica'' – Common fig |image = Ficus carica L, 1771.jpg |image_caption = Foliage and fruit drawn in 1771<ref>1771 illustration from Trew, C.J., ''Plantae selectae quarum imagines ad exemplaria naturalia Londini, in hortis curiosorum nutrit'', vol. 8: t. 73 (1771), drawing by G.D. Ehret</ref> |status = LC |status_system = IUCN3.1 |status_ref = |genus = Ficus |parent = Ficus subg. Ficus |species = carica |authority = L. |synonyms_ref = <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/search?q=Ficus+carica |title=Search results — The Plant List |website=www.theplantlist.org |access-date=2014-12-29 |archive-date=2021-06-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628211936/http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/search?q=Ficus+carica |url-status=live}}</ref> |synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true |title=Synonymy |''Caprificus insectifera'' Gasp. |''Caprificus leucocarpa'' Gasp. |''Caprificus oblongata'' Gasp. |''Caprificus pedunculata'' (Miq.) Gasp. |''Caprificus rugosa'' (Miq.) Gasp. |''Caprificus sphaerocarpa'' Gasp. |''Ficus albescens'' Miq. |''Ficus burdigalensis'' Poit. & Turpin |''Ficus caprificus'' Risso |''Ficus colchica'' Grossh. |''Ficus colombra'' Gasp. |''Ficus communis'' Lam. |''Ficus deliciosa'' Gasp. |''Ficus dottata'' Gasp. |''Ficus globosa'' Miq. 1848 not Blume 1825 |''Ficus hypoleuca'' Gasp. |''Ficus hyrcana'' Grossh. |''Ficus kopetdagensis'' Pachom. |''Ficus latifolia'' Salisb. |''Ficus leucocarpa'' Gasp. |''Ficus macrocarpa'' Gasp. |''Ficus neapolitana'' Miq. |''Ficus pachycarpa'' Gasp. |''Ficus pedunculata'' Miq. |''Ficus polymorpha'' Gasp. |''Ficus praecox'' Gasp. |''Ficus regina'' Miq. |''Ficus rugosa'' Miq. |''Ficus silvestris'' Risso |''Ficus rupestris'' (Hausskn. ex Boiss.) Azizian |}}}}

The '''fig''' is the edible fruit of '''''Ficus carica''''' (the '''common fig'''), a species of tree or shrub in the flowering plant family Moraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, and to western and southern Asia. It has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world.<ref name="Eisen-1901">''The Fig: its History, Culture, and Curing'', Gustavus A. Eisen, Washington, Govt. print. off., 1901</ref><ref name="RHS-AZ-2008">{{cite book |title=RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants |year=2008 |publisher=Dorling Kindersley |isbn=978-1-4053-3296-5 |page=1136}}</ref> ''Ficus carica'' is the type species of the genus ''Ficus'', which comprises over 800 tropical and subtropical plant species.

The fig plant is a deciduous tree or large shrub, growing up to {{convert|7-10|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall, with smooth white bark. Its large leaves have three to five deep lobes. Its fruit (a syconium) is teardrop-shaped, {{convert|3-5|cm|frac=2|abbr=on}} long, initially green but may ripen toward purple or brown, and has sweet soft reddish flesh containing numerous small seeds. In the Northern Hemisphere, fresh figs are in season from early August to early October. They tolerate moderate seasonal drought and can be grown even in hot-summer continental climates.

In 2020, world production of raw figs was 1.26 million tonnes, led by Turkey (with 25% of the world total), Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria, collectively accounting for 62% of the total. Although the milky sap of the green parts of the plant is an irritant to human skin, figs can be eaten fresh or dried. They are also processed into jam, rolls, biscuits, and other types of desserts. Since ripe fresh figs are easily damaged in transport and do not keep well, most commercial production is in dried and processed forms. Raw figs contain roughly 80% water and 20% carbohydrates, with negligible protein, fat, and micronutrient content. They are a moderate source of dietary fiber.

== Etymology ==

The word ''fig'', first recorded in English in the 13th century, derives from Old French {{Lang|fro|figue}}, itself from Occitan (Old Provençal) ''figa'', from Romance ''*fica'', from Classical Latin {{Lang|la|ficus}} (fig or fig-tree).<ref>{{cite book |last=Hoad |first=T.F. |title=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1986 |page=171a}}</ref> The Latin word along with Armenian ''t'uz'' and Greek σῦκον ''sycon'' (Boeotian τῦκον ''tukon'') most likely all derive from a single source ''*tʰuōiḱo-'' or ''*tʰū(i)ḱo-'' in the Mediterranean region, perhaps in a Semitic language.<ref>{{cite web |title=fig (n.1) |url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=fig |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=17 March 2026}}</ref> The name of the ''caprifig'', ''Ficus caprificus'' Risso, is derived both from Latin {{Lang|la|caper}}, genitive {{Lang|la|capri}} (he-goat) and English ''fig''.<ref>Condit, Ira J. (1947) ''The Fig''; Chronica Botanica Co., Waltham, Massachusetts, USA.</ref>

==Description==

''Ficus carica'' is a gynodioecious, deciduous tree or large shrub that grows up to {{convert|7–10|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} tall, with smooth white bark. Its fragrant leaves are some {{convert|20|cm|frac=2|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|14|cm|frac=2|abbr=on}} wide, rough, and deeply lobed (three or five lobes).<ref name="Kew"/>

The fig fruit develops as a hollow, fleshy structure called the syconium that is lined with numerous unisexual flowers. The tiny flowers bloom out of sight inside this structure. Although commonly called a fruit, the syconium is botanically an infructescence, containing multiple fruits. The small fig flowers and later small single-seeded (true) fruits line its interior surface. A small opening or ostiole, at the apex of the fruit, is a narrow passage that allows the specialized fig wasp, ''Blastophaga psenes'', to enter and pollinate the flowers. Each fertilized ovule (one per flower, in its ovary) develops into a small, single-seeded fruit,<ref name="Kew" /> (a drupelet).<ref name="Wayne">[http://waynesword.palomar.edu/pljun99b.htm Wayne's Word: Sex Determination & Life Cycle in ''Ficus carica''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090902145758/http://waynesword.palomar.edu/pljun99b.htm |date=2009-09-02 }}</ref> At maturity, these 'seeds' (single-seeded fruits) line the inside of the fig, a false fruit.<ref name="Kew" /> The mature fig is {{convert|3–5|cm|frac=2|abbr=on}} long, with a green skin that sometimes ripens toward purple or brown. The tree has milky sap, produced by laticifer cells.<ref name="Purdue">{{cite web |url=http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/fig.html#Toxicity |publisher=Purdue University: Horticulture & Landscape Architecture |title=Fig, ''Ficus carica''|access-date=December 6, 2014 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125022839/http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/fig.html#Toxicity |url-status=live}}</ref>

<gallery class="center" mode="nolines" widths="160" heights="160"> File:Drvo smokve.JPG|Habit File:Ficus bud.JPG|Bud File:Fig fruit.jpg|Leaves and immature fruit File:Smokve na grani.jpg|Figs in various stages of ripening File:Feige-Schnitt.png|Vertical section of a fig </gallery>

=== Chemistry === Figs contain diverse phytochemicals under basic research for their potential biological properties, including polyphenols, such as gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, syringic acid, (+)-catechin, (−)-epicatechin and rutin.<ref>Vinson (1999)</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Phenolic acids and flavonoids of fig fruit (Ficus carica L.) in the northern Mediterranean region|author1=Veberic, R. |author2=Colaric, M. |author3=Stampar, F. |journal=Food Chemistry| volume=106|issue=1|year=2008|pages=153–157|doi=10.1016/j.foodchem.2007.05.061 |bibcode=2008FoodC.106..153V }}</ref> Fig color may vary between cultivars due to various concentrations of anthocyanins, with cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside having particularly high content.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Antioxidant activities and anthocyanin content of fresh fruits of common fig (Ficus carica L.) |last1=Solomon |first1=Anat |last2=Golubowicz |first2=Sara |last3=Yablowicz |first3=Zeev |last4=Grossman |first4=Shlomo |last5=Bergman |first5=Margalit |last6=Gottlieb |first6=Hugo E. |last7=Altman |first7=Arie |last8=Kerem |first8=Zohar |last9=Flaishman |first9=Moshe A. |display-authors=5 |journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry |year=2006 |volume=54 |issue=20 |pages=7717–7723 |pmid=17002444 |doi=10.1021/jf060497h |bibcode=2006JAFC...54.7717S }}</ref>

== Distribution and habitat == [[File:Anjeer Kouhi tree.jpg|thumb|Mountain fig tree in Zibad ]]

The fig has been cultivated since ancient times and grows wild in dry and sunny locations with deep and fresh soil, and in rocky locations that are at sea level to {{convert|1,700|m|abbr=on}} in elevation. It prefers relatively porous and freely draining soil, and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Unlike other fig species, ''F. carica'' does not always require pollination by a wasp or from another tree,<ref>Shannon Wolfe, "[http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=15080 Carnivorous Figs: The Relationship Between Wasps and Figs] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220095136/http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=15080 |date=2016-12-20 }}", University of California Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County, 27 August 2014.</ref><ref>Ferguson, Louise; Crisosto, Carlos H. "[http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/42/5/1083.full The Fig: Overview of an Ancient Fruit] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005180601/http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/42/5/1083.full |date=2016-10-05 }}", in ''HortScience'', August 2007, Vol. 42, No. 5, pages 1083–1087.</ref> but can be pollinated by the fig wasp, ''Blastophaga psenes'', to produce seeds. Fig wasps are not present to pollinate in colder regions such as the British Isles.<ref name="Blackburne-Maze-2003">{{cite book |last=Blackburne-Maze |first=Peter |title=Fruit: an Illustrated History |publisher=Firefly Books |pages=209–11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=djWeflcUijEC |date=2003 |access-date=March 22, 2017 |isbn=978-1-55297-780-4 |archive-date=February 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227031344/https://books.google.com/books?id=djWeflcUijEC |url-status=live}}</ref>

The species is naturalized in scattered locations in Asia and North America.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200006351 |title=Ficus carica in Flora of China @ efloras.org |website=www.efloras.org |access-date=2015-08-19 |archive-date=2015-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924153357/http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200006351 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Ficus%20carica.png |title=Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map |access-date=2015-08-19 |archive-date=2015-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022070236/http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Ficus%20carica.png |url-status=live}}</ref> The mountain or rock fig ({{langx |fa |انجیر کوهی |anjīr kuhi}}) is a wild variety, tolerant of cold dry climates, of the semi-arid rocky montane regions of Iran, especially in the Kūhestān mountains of Khorasan.<ref name="Purdue" />

==Cultivation==

===Historical cultivation===

The edible fig is probably the first plant to have been cultivated by humans.<ref name="Kew">{{cite web |title=Ficus carica Edible fig |url=https://www.kew.org/plants/fig |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=9 March 2026}}</ref> Nine subfossil figs of a parthenocarpic (and therefore sterile) type dating to about 9400–9200 BCE were found in the early Neolithic village Gilgal I (in the Jordan Valley, {{convert|13|km|disp=or|frac=2}} north of Jericho). The find precedes the domestication of wheat, barley, and legumes, and may thus be the first known instance of agriculture. It is proposed that this sterile but desirable type was planted and cultivated intentionally, one thousand years before the next crops were domesticated (wheat and rye).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kislev |first1=M. E. |last2=Hartmann |first2=A. |last3=Bar-Yosef |first3=O. |title=Early Domesticated Fig in the Jordan Valley |journal=Science |publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science |location=Washington, DC |volume=312 |issue=5778 |pages=1372–1374 |year=2006a |doi=10.1126/science.1125910 |pmid=16741119 |bibcode=2006Sci...312.1372K |s2cid=42150441}}</ref>{{efn|Also relevant are a comment on the proposal,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lev-Yadun |first1=S. |last2=Ne'Eman |first2=G. |last3=Abbo |first3=S. |last4=Flaishman |first4=M. A. |title=Comment on "Early Domesticated Fig in the Jordan Valley" |journal=Science |publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science |location=Washington, DC |volume=314 |issue=5806 |page=1683a |year=2006 |doi=10.1126/science.1132636 |pmid=17170278 |bibcode=2006Sci...314.1683L |doi-access=free}}</ref> and a response to that comment.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kislev |first1=M. E. |last2=Hartmann |first2=A. |last3=Bar-Yosef |first3=O. |title=Response to Comment on "Early Domesticated Fig in the Jordan Valley" |journal=Science |publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science |location=Washington, DC |volume=314 |issue=5806 |page=1683b |year=2006b |doi=10.1126/science.1133748 |bibcode=2006Sci...314.1683K |doi-access=free}}</ref>}}

In ancient Israel, figs were a staple crop and widely cultivated for both fresh consumption and preservation. Archaeological evidence from sites such as Tel Beit Shemesh reveals that pressed figs were stored in jars. Fig trees thrived in the region's dry, rocky soil and yielded two annual harvests: an early crop eaten fresh, and a later summer crop (''qayiṣ'') that was dried or pressed into fig-cakes for preservation and travel.<ref name="Shafer-Elliott-2022">{{Citation |last=Shafer-Elliott |first=Cynthia |title=Fruits, Nuts, Vegetables, and Legumes |date=2022 |work=T&T Clark Handbook of Food in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel |pages=142 |editor-last=Fu |editor-first=Janling |url=https://www.bloomsburyfoodlibrary.com/encyclopedia-chapter?docid=b-9780567679826&tocid=b-9780567679826-chapter8 |access-date=2025-07-27 |series=T&T Clark Handbooks |edition=1 |place=London |publisher=T&T Clark |isbn=978-0-567-67982-6 |editor2-last=Shafer-Elliott |editor2-first=Cynthia |editor3-last=Meyers |editor3-first=Carol}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Goor |first=Asaph |date=1965 |title=The History of the Fig in the Holy Land from Ancient Times to the Present Day |journal=Economic Botany |volume=19 |issue=2 |page=125 (The Biblical Period) |bibcode=1965EcBot..19..124G |doi=10.1007/BF02862824 |jstor=4252586 |s2cid=34606339}}</ref> Fig trees are frequently mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and are depicted in the Lachish reliefs alongside grapevines and date palms, confirming their place in the cultivated landscape of Judah.<ref name="Shafer-Elliott-2022" />

Figs were widespread in ancient Greece, and their cultivation was described by both Aristotle and Theophrastus. Aristotle noted that, as in animal sexes, figs have individuals of two kinds, one (the cultivated fig) that bears fruit, and one (the wild caprifig) that assists the other to bear fruit. Further, Aristotle recorded that the fruits of the wild fig contain ''psenes'' (fig wasps); these begin life as larvae, and the adult ''psen'' splits its "skin" (pupa) and flies out of the fig to find and enter a cultivated fig, saving it from dropping. Theophrastus observed that just as date palms have male and female flowers, and that farmers (from the East) help by scattering "dust" from the male onto the female, and as a male fish releases his milt over the female's eggs, so Greek farmers tie wild figs to cultivated trees. They do not say directly that figs reproduce sexually, however.<ref name="Leroi-2014">{{cite book |last=Leroi |first=Armand Marie |author-link=Armand Marie Leroi |title=The Lagoon: How Aristotle Invented Science |date=2014 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-4088-3622-4 |pages=244–247}}</ref>

Figs were also a common food source for the Romans. Cato the Elder, in his {{Circa|160 BC}}'' De Agri Cultura'', lists several strains of figs grown at the time he wrote his handbook: the Mariscan, African, Herculanean, Saguntine, and the black Tellanian.<ref>{{ cite book | title=Cato, the Censor, on Farming | author=Marcus Porcius Cato | authorlink=Cato the Elder | translator-first1=Ernest | translator-last1=Brehaut | publisher=Columbia University Press | page=19 | year=1933 | quote=VIII. As for figs, plant the marisca fig on clayey, open ground. Plant the African variety and the Herculanean, the Saguntine, the winter fig, and the black, long-stemmed Tellane fig on richer or well-manured soil. }}</ref> The fruits were used, among other things, to fatten geese for the production of a precursor of foie gras. Rome's first emperor, Augustus, was reputed to have been poisoned with figs from his garden smeared with poison by his wife Livia.<ref>{{cite book |last=Beard |first=Mary | title=Confronting the Classics | url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780871407160 | url-access=registration | author-link=Mary Beard | year=2013| page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780871407160/page/128 128]| publisher=Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company | isbn=978-0-87140-716-0 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title=Roman History 56.30| author=Cassius Dio}}</ref> For this reason, or perhaps because of her horticultural expertise, a variety of fig known as the ''Liviana'' was cultivated in Roman gardens.<ref>{{cite book| title=Confronting the Classics | url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780871407160 | url-access=registration | author=Mary Beard | year=2013| page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780871407160/page/131 131]| publisher=Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W. W. Norton & Company | isbn=978-0-87140-716-0 }}</ref>

It was cultivated from Afghanistan to Portugal, also grown in Pithoragarh in the Kumaon hills of India. From the 15th century onwards, it was grown in areas including Northern Europe and the New World.<ref name="Eisen-1901"/> In 1769, Spanish missionaries led by Junipero Serra brought the first figs to California. The ''Mission'' variety, which they cultivated, is still popular.<ref name="Roeding-1903">Roeding, George C. (1903) ''The Smyrna Fig: At Home and Abroad''; published by the author, Fresno, California</ref> The Kadota cultivar is even older, being mentioned by the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder in the 1st century CE.<ref name="Storey-1977">Storey, W.B, Enderud, J.E., Saleeb, W.F., & Mauer, E.M. (1977) ''The Fig, Ficus carica Linnaeus: Its Biology, History, Culture, and Utilization'', Vol. 13 #2,3,4; Jurupa Mountains Cultural Center, Riverside, CA, USA</ref> Pliny recorded thirty varieties of figs.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lyle |first=Katie Letcher |title=The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts: How to Find, Identify, and Cook Them |publisher=FalconGuides |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-59921-887-8 |edition=2nd |page=96 |oclc=560560606 |orig-year=2004}}</ref>

=== Modern cultivation ===

The common fig is grown for its edible fruit throughout the temperate world. It is also grown as an ornamental tree, and in the UK the cultivars 'Brown Turkey'<ref>{{cite web |title=RHS Plant Selector – ''Ficus carica '' 'Brown Turkey' |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/56327/Ficus-carica-Brown-Turkey-(F)/Details |access-date=15 April 2020 |archive-date=19 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519071648/https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/56327/Ficus-carica-Brown-Turkey-(F)/Details |url-status=live }}</ref> and 'Ice Crystal' (mainly grown for its unusual foliage)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/251117/Ficus-carica-Ice-Crystal-(F)/Details |title=RHS Plantfinder – ''Ficus carica'' 'Ice Crystal' |access-date=2020-04-17 |archive-date=2020-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519153750/https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/251117/Ficus-carica-Ice-Crystal-(F)/Details |url-status=live }}</ref> have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf |title=AGM Plants – Ornamental |date=July 2017 |page=47 |publisher=Royal Horticultural Society |access-date=27 February 2018 |archive-date=5 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105180412/https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Figs are grown in Germany, mainly in private gardens inside built-up areas. There is no commercial fig growing.<ref>[https://www.rnz.de/nachrichten/metropolregion_artikel,-Metropolregion-Die-Feigenernte-in-Kraichgau-und-Pfalz-laeuft-auf-Hochtouren-_arid,2323.html ''Die Feigenernte in Kraichgau und Pfalz läuft auf Hochtouren''] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101015635/https://www.rnz.de/nachrichten/metropolregion_artikel,-Metropolregion-Die-Feigenernte-in-Kraichgau-und-Pfalz-laeuft-auf-Hochtouren-_arid,2323.html |date=2018-11-01 }} (English: The fig harvest in Kraichgau and the Palatinate is in full swing) at Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung.</ref> The Palatine region in the German South West has an estimated 80,000 fig trees.<ref>Christoph Seiler: ''Feigen aus dem eigenen Garten'' (English: Figs from your own garden), Stuttgart 2016, page 64.</ref> There are about a dozen quite widespread varieties hardy enough to survive winter outdoors mostly without special protection. There are even two local varieties, "''Martinsfeige''" and "''Lussheim''", which may be the hardiest varieties in the region.<ref>Christoph Seiler: ''Feigen aus dem eigenen Garten.'' Stuttgart 2016, pages 75 and 78.</ref>

As the population of California grew, especially after the gold rush, a number of other cultivars were brought there by persons and nurserymen from the east coast of the US and from France and England. By the end of the 19th century, it became apparent that California had the potential for being an ideal fig-producing state because of its Mediterranean-like climate and latitude of 38 degrees, lining up San Francisco with İzmir, Turkey. G. P. Rixford first brought true Smyrna figs to California in 1880. The most popular cultivar of Smyrna-type fig in California is the Turkish ''Lob Injir'', sold under the name ''{{visible anchor |Calimyrna}}'' (combining "California" and "Smyrna"), which has been grown in Turkey for centuries and was brought to California in the latter part of the 19th century.<ref name="Storey-1977"/>

alt=Two whole figs and two sliced fig halves on a wooden table in natural light|thumb |Fresh fig halves on wooden surface

Figs can be found in continental climates with hot summers as far north as Hungary and Moravia. Thousands of cultivars, most named, have been developed as human migration brought the fig to many places outside its natural range. Fig plants can be propagated by seed or by vegetative methods. Vegetative propagation is quicker and more reliable, as it does not yield the inedible caprifigs. Seeds germinate readily in moist conditions and grow rapidly once established. For vegetative propagation, shoots with buds can be planted in well-watered soil in the spring or summer, or a branch can be scratched to expose the bast (inner bark) and pinned to the ground to allow roots to develop.<ref name="RHS">{{cite web |title=Figs |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=106 |publisher=Royal Horticultural Society |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-date=20 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220095021/https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=106 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Two crops can be produced each year. The first or breba crop develops in the spring on last year's shoot growth. The main crop develops on the current year's shoot growth and ripens in the late summer or fall.<ref name="CRFG-1996">{{cite web |url=http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/fig.html |publisher=California Rare Fruit Growers |title=Fig |website=CRFG Publications |date=1996 |access-date=2016-02-01 |archive-date=2020-10-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031124540/http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/fig.html }}</ref>

There are three types of edible figs:<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nafex.org/figs.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410033353/http://www.nafex.org/figs.htm |title=North American Fruit Explorers: Figs. |archive-date=Apr 10, 2009}}</ref>

* Persistent (or common) figs have all female flowers that do not need pollination for fruiting; the fruit can develop through parthenocarpy. This is a popular horticulture fig for home gardeners. Dottato (Kadota), Black Mission, Brown Turkey, Brunswick, and Celeste are some representative cultivars. * Caducous (or Smyrna) figs require cross-pollination by the fig wasp with pollen from caprifigs for the fruit to mature. If not pollinated, the immature fruits drop. Cultivars include Marabout, Inchàrio, and Zidi. * Intermediate (or San Pedro) figs set an unpollinated breba crop but need pollination for the later main crop. Examples are Lampeira, King, and San Pedro.

There are dozens of fig cultivars, including main and breba cropping varieties, and an edible caprifig (the Croisic). Varieties are often local, found in a single region of one country.<ref name="CRFG-1996" /><ref name="Janick-1975">{{cite book |last=Storey |first=W.B. |chapter=Figs |editor1-last=Janick |editor1-first=Jules |editor2-last=Moore |editor2-first=James |year=1975 |title=Advances in Fruit Breeding |publisher=Purdue University Press |pages=568–588}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=170 heights=170> File:Ficus carica Panascè.jpg |Variegated fig File:Figs.jpg |Fresh figs, cut open File:Figs,_khari_baoli_market.jpg |Dry figs, Khari Baoli market, Old Delhi </gallery>

===Overwintering===

People of the Italian diaspora who live in cold-winter climates have the practice of burying imported fig trees to overwinter them and protect the fruiting hard wood from cold.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.conngardener.com/growing-fig-trees-in-cooler-climes/| title=Growing Fig Trees in Cooler Climates| first=Anne |last=Rowlands| publisher=Connecticut Gardener| date=February 6, 2019| access-date=December 19, 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213043710/http://www.conngardener.com/figs.html| archive-date=2017-12-13}}</ref> Italian immigrants to America in the 19th century introduced this common practice in cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Toronto, where winters are normally too cold to leave the tree exposed.<ref name="Santos-2010">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/nyregion/16figtrees.html| title=Winter Coats No Longer the Fashion for Fig Trees| first=Fernanda| last=Santos| newspaper=The New York Times| date=February 15, 2010| access-date=April 9, 2018| archive-date=February 25, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225185721/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/nyregion/16figtrees.html| url-status=live}}</ref> This practice consists in digging a trench that is appropriate to the size of the specimen, some of which are more than {{convert|3|m|abbr=on|frac=2}} tall, severing part of the root system, and bending the specimen into the trench. Specimens are often wrapped in waterproof material to discourage the development of mold and fungus, then covered with a heavy layer of soil and leaves. Sometimes plywood or corrugated metal is placed on top to secure the tree.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/12/25/371184053/why-bury-fig-trees-a-curious-tradition-preserves-a-taste-of-italy| title=Why Bury Fig Trees? A Curious Tradition Preserves a Taste of Italy| first=Hal| last=Klein| publisher=National Public Radio| date=December 25, 2014| access-date=April 9, 2018| archive-date=April 10, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180410135606/https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/12/25/371184053/why-bury-fig-trees-a-curious-tradition-preserves-a-taste-of-italy| url-status=live}}</ref> In borderline climates like New York City, burying trees is no longer needed because low winter temperatures have increased. Often, specimens are simply wrapped in plastic and other insulating material, or not protected if planted in a sheltered site against a wall that absorbs sunlight.<ref name="Santos-2010"/>

===Breeding===

While there are more naturally occurring varieties of figs than of any other tree crop, a formal fig breeding program was not developed until the beginning of the 20th century.<ref name="Van Deynze-2008">Van Deynze, Allen (editor) (2008) ''100 years of breeding: UC Davis Plant Breeding Program''. Published by the Dean's Office, Department of Plant Sciences, & Seed Biotechnology Center, Davis, CA, USA</ref> Ira Condit, "High Priest of the Fig," and William Storey tested some thousands of fig seedlings in the early 20th century based at University of California, Riverside.<ref name="Janick-1975" /> The work they had been doing was later continued at the University of California, Davis. That fig breeding program was closed in the 1980s.<ref name="Van Deynze-2008" />

Insect and fungal disease pressure affecting both dried and fresh figs led James Doyle and Louise Ferguson to revive the breeding program in 1989 using the germplasm that Condit and Storey had established. Two varieties from Doyle and Ferguson's program are now in production in California: the public variety "Sierra", and the patented variety "Sequoia".<ref>{{Cite web|title = New fig cultivar comparison report released by UC Kearney REC|url = http://westernfarmpress.com/mag/farming_new_fig_cultivar/|website = westernfarmpress.com|access-date = 2016-02-01|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090906200834/http://westernfarmpress.com/mag/farming_new_fig_cultivar/|archive-date = 2009-09-06}}</ref> {| class="wikitable floatright" ! colspan=2|Fig production – 2024 |- ! style="background:#ddf;"| Country ! style="background:#ddf;"| (tonnes) |- |{{center| {{TUR}} }}|| align="right" | 375,000 |- |{{center| {{EGY}} }}|| align="right" | 217,194 |- |{{center| {{ALG}} }}|| align="right" | 114,937 |- |{{center| {{MOR}} }}|| align="right" | 106,237 |- |{{center| {{IRI}} }}|| align="right" | 75,432 |- |{{center| {{AFG}} }}|| align="right" | 59,916 |- |{{center| {{ESP}} }}|| align="right" | 55,420 |- |{{center| {{SYR}} }}|| align="right" | 33,938 |- |{{center| {{KSA}} }}|| align="right" | 28,215 |- |{{center| {{USA}} }}|| align="right" | 28,174 |- |- style="background:#ccc; text-align: center;" ||{{center|'''World'''}}|| '''1,336,541''' |- |colspan=2 style="text-align: center;"|Source: United Nations FAOSTAT<ref name="FAOSTAT2024">{{cite web|url=https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL|title=Production of figs in 2024, Crops/Regions/World list/Production Quantity/Year (pick lists)|date=2026|publisher=UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT)|access-date=24 May 2026}}</ref> |}

thumb|center|upright=2|World distribution of fig production (based on 2005 data). Most of the world's figs are grown in the Mediterranean region.

=== Production ===

In 2024, world production of raw figs was 1.34 million tonnes, led by Turkey (with 28% of the world total), Egypt, Algeria and Morocco as the largest producers, collectively accounting for 61% of the total.<ref name="FAOSTAT2024"/>

==Toxicity== Like other plant species in the family Moraceae, contact with the milky sap of ''F. carica'' followed by exposure to ultraviolet light can cause phytophotodermatitis,<ref name="Polat-2008">{{cite journal |last1=Polat |first1=Muhterem |last2=Öztaş |first2=Pınar |last3=Dikilitaş |first3=Meltem Cik |last4=Allı |first4=Nuran |title=Phytophotodermatitis due to ''Ficus carica'' |journal=Dermatol Online J |date=December 2008 |volume=14 |issue=12 |page=9 |doi=10.5070/D3046507Z8 |pmid=19265622 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/046507z8 |access-date=2018-12-11 |archive-date=2021-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410061636/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/046507z8 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Son-2017">{{cite journal |last1=Son |first1=J. H. |last2=Jin |first2=H. |last3=You |first3=H. S. |last4=Shim |first4=W. H. |last5=Kim |first5=J. M. |last6=Kim |first6=G. W. |last7=Kim |first7=H. S. |last8=Ko |first8=H. C. |last9=Kim |first9=M. B. |last10=Kim |first10=B. S. |display-authors=5 |title=Five Cases of Phytophotodermatitis Caused by Fig Leaves and Relevant Literature Review |journal=Annals of Dermatology |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=86–90 |date=February 2017 |pmid=28223753 |pmc=5318534 |doi=10.5021/ad.2017.29.1.86}}</ref> a potentially serious skin inflammation. Although the plant is not poisonous per se, ''F. carica'' is listed in the US Food and Drug Administration's database of poisonous plants.<ref>{{cite web |title=FDA Poisonous Plant Database |url=https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/plantox/index.cfm |publisher=U.S. Food & Drug Administration |access-date=17 March 2026 |archive-date=27 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090927082915/https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/plantox/index.cfm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Furanocoumarins cause phytophotodermatitis in humans.<ref name="McGovern-2000">{{cite journal |journal=The Electronic Textbook of Dermatology |url=http://telemedicine.org/botanica/bot1.htm |title=Botanical Dermatology |last1=McGovern |first1=Thomas W. |last2=Barkley |first2=Theodore M. |at=Section [http://telemedicine.org/botanica/bot5.htm Phytophotodermatitis] |publisher=Internet Dermatology Society |date=2000 |volume=37 |issue=5 |doi=10.1046/j.1365-4362.1998.00385.x |pmid=9620476 |s2cid=221810453 |access-date=November 29, 2018 |archive-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601195720/http://telemedicine.org/botanica/bot1.htm |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The common fig contains significant quantities of two furanocoumarins, psoralen and bergapten.<ref name="Zaynoun-1984">{{cite journal |last1=Zaynoun |first1=S. T. |last2=Aftimos |first2=B. G. |last3=Abi Ali |first3=L. |last4=Tenekjian |first4=K. K. |last5=Khalidi |first5=U. |last6=Kurban |first6=A. K. |title=''Ficus carica''; isolation and quantification of the photoactive components |journal=Contact Dermatitis |date=July 1984 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=21–25 |pmid=6744838 |doi=10.1111/j.1600-0536.1984.tb00164.x |s2cid=26987319 }} Cited in McGovern and Barkley 2000, section [http://telemedicine.org/botanica/bot5.htm Phytophotodermatitis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214163619/http://telemedicine.org/botanica/bot5.htm |date=2012-02-14 }}.</ref> The essential oil of fig leaves contains more than 10% psoralen, the highest concentration of any organic compound isolated from fig leaves.<ref name="Li-2011">{{cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Jun |last2=Tian |first2=Yu-zeng |last3=Sun |first3=Bao-ya |last4=Yang |first4=Dan |last5=Chen |first5=Ji-ping |last6=Men |first6=Qi-ming |s2cid=38145943 |title=Analysis on Volatile Constituents in Leaves and Fruits of ''Ficus carica'' by GC-MS |journal=Chinese Herbal Medicines |date=2011 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=63–69 |doi=10.3969/j.issn.1674-6384.2012.01.010 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1674638412600367 |access-date=2023-02-28 |archive-date=2023-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228002121/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1674638412600367 |url-status=live }}</ref> Psoralen and bergapten are found in the milky sap of the leaves and shoots of ''F. carica'' but not the fruits.<ref name="Zaynoun-1984" /> Neither psoralen nor bergapten was detected in the essential oil of fig fruits.<ref name="Li-2011" />

==Uses==

===Nutrition===

{{nutritional value |name=Fig, raw |kJ=310 |water=79 g |protein=0.8 g |fat=0.3 g |carbs=19.2 g |fiber=3 g |sugars=16.3 g |calcium_mg=35 |iron_mg=0.4 |magnesium_mg=17 |phosphorus_mg=14 |potassium_mg=232 |sodium_mg=1 |zinc_mg=0.15 |manganese_mg=0.13 |vitC_mg=2 |thiamin_mg=0.06 |riboflavin_mg=0.05 |niacin_mg=0.4 |pantothenic_mg=0.3 |vitB6_mg=0.1 |folate_ug=6 |vitA_ug=7 |vitE_mg=0.11 |vitK_ug=4.7 |source_usda=1 |note=[https://web.archive.org/web/20190403171801/https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/786679/nutrients Link to USDA Database entry] }} {{nutritional value | name = Fig, dried, uncooked | kJ = 1041 | water = 30 g | protein = 3.3 g | fat = 0.93 g | carbs = 63.9 g | fiber = 9.8 g | sugars = 47.9 g | calcium_mg = 162 | iron_mg = 2 | magnesium_mg = 68 | phosphorus_mg = 67 | potassium_mg = 680 | sodium_mg = 10 | zinc_mg = 0.55 | manganese_mg = 0.51 | vitC_mg = 1 | thiamin_mg = 0.085 | riboflavin_mg = 0.082 | niacin_mg = 0.62 | pantothenic_mg = 0.43 | vitB6_mg = 0.11 | folate_ug = 9 | vitA_ug = 0 | vitE_mg = 0.35 | vitK_ug = 15.6 | note = [https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/1102632/nutrients Link to USDA Database entry] }} ''Raw'' figs are 79% water, 19% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and contain negligible fat. They are a moderate source (14% of the Daily Value, DV) of dietary fiber and {{convert|310|kJ|kcal}} of food energy per 100-gram serving, and do not supply essential micronutrients in significant contents.

When dehydrated to 30% water, figs have a carbohydrate content of 64%, protein content of 3%, and fat content of 1%.<ref name="Conde Nast-2018"/> In a 100-gram serving, providing {{convert|1041|kJ|kcal|abbr=on}} of food energy, ''dried'' figs are a rich source (more than 20% DV) of dietary fiber and the essential mineral manganese (26% DV), while calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin K are in moderate amounts.<ref name="Conde Nast-2018">{{cite web|url=http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1889/2 |title=Nutrition facts for dried figs, uncooked per 100 g|publisher=Conde Nast for the USDA National Nutrient Database, version SR-21 |date=2018 |access-date=7 June 2020 |archive-date=6 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606041109/https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1889/2 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In fig fruits, the levels of glucose and fructose are nearly identical, with glucose slightly more prevalent overall, while the presence of sucrose is minimal.<ref name="Hssaini-2020">{{cite journal |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/15538362.2019.1701615 |doi=10.1080/15538362.2019.1701615 |title=Assessment of Morphological Traits and Fruit Metabolites in Eleven Fig Varieties ( ''Ficus Carica'' L.) |date=2020 |last1=Hssaini |first1=Lahcen |last2=Charafi |first2=Jamal |last3=Razouk |first3=Rachid |last4=Hernández |first4=Francisca |last5=Fauconnier |first5=Marie-Laure |last6=Ennahli |first6=Said |last7=Hanine |first7=Hafida |journal=International Journal of Fruit Science |volume=20 |pages=8–28 |bibcode=2020IJFS...20....8H |access-date=2024-02-22 |archive-date=2024-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227031351/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15538362.2019.1701615 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.scienta.2013.05.036 |title=Seasonal changes in photosynthetic activity and carbohydrate content in leaves and fruit of three fig cultivars (Ficus carica L.) |date=2013 |last1=Vemmos |first1=Stavros N. |last2=Petri |first2=Evagelia |last3=Stournaras |first3=Vasilis |journal=Scientia Horticulturae |volume=160 |pages=198–207 |bibcode=2013ScHor.160..198V |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |journal=Italian Journal of Food Science |title=Internal Fruit Quality of Figs (''Ficus carica'' L.) in the Northern Mediterranean Region |last=Veberic |first=R. |author2=Jakopic, J. |author3=Stampa, F. |pages=255–261 |issn=1120-1770 |url=http://www.chiriottieditori.it/images/stories/IJFS%20archivio/IJFS202.pdf |issue=2 |volume=20 |year=2008 |access-date=2024-02-22 |archive-date=2020-07-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711114122/http://www.chiriottieditori.it/images/stories/IJFS%20archivio/IJFS202.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Still, in some varieties of figs, the fructose content can occasionally slightly surpass that of glucose.<ref name="Hssaini-2020"/>

=== Culinary ===

Figs can be eaten fresh or dried, and used in jam-making.<ref name="Kew"/> Most commercial production is in dried or otherwise processed forms, since the ripe fruit does not transport or keep well. In the Northern Hemisphere, fresh figs are in season from August through to early October. Fresh figs used in cooking should be plump and soft, and without bruising or splits. If they smell sour, the figs have become over-ripe. Slightly under-ripe figs can be kept at room temperature for 1–2 days to ripen before serving. Figs are most flavorful at room temperature.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fig|url=http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/fig|website=BBC Good Food|access-date=2016-02-02|archive-date=2016-02-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202115432/http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/fig|url-status=live}}</ref>

Freshly harvested figs can undergo two distinct drying methods for preservation. The first method is natural sun-drying, where figs are exposed to the warmth and light of the sun. The second method involves oven-drying, where figs are placed in a controlled temperature environment within an oven.<ref name="Slatnar-2011">{{cite journal |url=https://doi.org/10.1021/jf202707y |doi=10.1021/jf202707y |title=Effect of Drying of Figs (Ficus carica L.) on the Contents of Sugars, Organic Acids, and Phenolic Compounds |date=2011 |last1=Slatnar |first1=Ana |last2=Klancar |first2=Urska |last3=Stampar |first3=Franci |last4=Veberic |first4=Robert |journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry |volume=59 |issue=21 |pages=11696–11702 |pmid=21958361 |bibcode=2011JAFC...5911696S |access-date=2024-02-22 |archive-date=2024-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227031350/https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf202707y |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Each process has its unique impact on the texture and flavor profile of the dried figs.<ref name="Slatnar-2011"/>

=== Folk medicine ===

In some old Mediterranean folk practices, the milky sap of the fig plant was used to soften calluses, remove warts, and deter parasites.<ref name="Landranco-2001">{{cite book |last=Landranco |first=Guido |date=2001 |title=Mediċina popolari ta' l-imgħoddi fil-gżejjer Maltin |trans-title=Popular medicine of the past in the Maltese islands |language=mt |location=Valletta, Malta |publisher=Klabb Kotba Maltin |isbn=99909-75-97-3}}</ref> Since the late 1800s, syrup of figs combined with senna has been used as a laxative.<ref name="recipe">{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=James |title=Syrup of Figs for Constipation |url=https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/syrup-of-figs-for-constipation-2109755 |access-date=2022-01-01 |website=Food Network}}</ref> Figs have been thought to be aphrodisiac, whether because they may encourage sexual arousal or because their shape suggests female genitalia.<ref>{{cite web |last=Phillips |first=Frankie |title=Do aphrodisiac foods work? |url=https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/health/wellness/do-aphrodisiac-foods-work |date=24 January 2024 |website=BBC Good Food |access-date=9 March 2026}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180> File:California Fig Syrup Co. (3093559530).jpg|Fig syrup has been used as a laxative. </gallery>

== In culture ==

In Babylonian mythology, Ishtar took the form of the divine fig tree Xikum, the "primeval mother at the central place of the earth", protectress of the saviour Tammuz. Moreover, figs and the fig tree were closely linked with female sexuality. According to Barbara Walker's encyclopedia on Goddess symbols, "This may account for the common use of the fig tree as a symbol of man's enlightenment, which was formerly supposed to come through his connection with the female principle."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Walker|first=Barbara|title=The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects|publisher=Harper One|year=1988|page=484}}</ref>

In Ancient Greece {{circa}} 590 BCE, the Athenian statesman Solon made a law prohibiting the export of figs from Attica. The fig came to be prized in Ancient Greece as a mark of their civilisation, in contrast to the barbarian Medes "who know neither wine nor figs".<ref>{{cite book |last=Sutton |first=David C. |title=Figs, a Global History |date=2014 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=978-1780233925 |pages=42–43 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MegvBAAAQBAJ}}</ref>

Figs have significance in several religions. In Buddhism, Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment (''bodhi'') after meditating underneath a ''Ficus religiosa'', the bodhi tree, for seven weeks (49 days) around 500 BCE. The site of enlightenment is in present-day Bodh Gaya and its bodhi tree has been replaced several times.<ref name="Rocky Mountain Tree">{{cite web |url=http://www.rmtrr.org/oldlist.htm |title=Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research, OLDLIST |access-date=3 July 2011 |archive-date=12 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412091010/http://www.rmtrr.org/oldlist.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> In Islam, Surah 95 of the Qur'an is named ''al-Tīn'' (Arabic for "The Fig"), as it opens with the oath "By the fig and the olive."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Surah At-Tin |url=https://quran.com/at-tin?locale=en&font=v1&reading=false&translations=20%2C131 |access-date=2021-07-31 |website=quran.com |archive-date=2021-07-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731220942/https://quran.com/at-tin?locale=en&font=v1&reading=false&translations=20,131 |url-status=live}}</ref> In Christianity, figs appear in the Book of Genesis, where Adam and Eve clad themselves with fig leaves (Genesis 3:7) after eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Likewise, fig leaves, or depictions of fig leaves, have long been used to cover the genitals of nude figures in painting and sculpture.<ref name="Babbs 2024">{{Cite web |last=Babbs |first=Verity |date=2024-02-21 |title=Art Bites: How the Modesty Police Used Fig Leaves to Censor Nudes |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world-archives/fig-leaf-campaign-2435557 |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=Artnet News}}</ref> According to the opinion of Rabbi Nehemya in the Talmud, the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden was a fig tree.<ref>[https://steinsaltz-center.org/portal/library/Talmud/Berakhot/chapter/40.a Talmud/Berakhot/chapter/40.a]</ref> There is a Christian tradition that the Tree of Knowledge was the same fig tree that Christ withers in the Gospels.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Holy and Great Monday Synaxarion |url=https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2011/04/synaxarion-for-holy-and-great-monday.html?m=1|website=Orthodox Christianity Then And Now|access-date = 2023-06-24 |archive-date=2023-06-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625035253/https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2011/04/synaxarion-for-holy-and-great-monday.html?m=1|url-status=live}}</ref>

The obligate mutualism between the fig and the fig wasp presents a unique dietary dilemma for strict vegetarians, vegans, and adherents of Jainism.{{sfn|Williams|1983|pp=50–55}} Because in natural pollination female wasps die inside the syconium, the resulting fruit contains the digested matter of an insect.{{sfn|Stover|2007|pp=89–92}} While some vegans accept traditional figs on the premise that the wasp's death is a naturally occurring event, strict Jains often reject them.{{sfn|Stover|2008|pp=113–197}} To cater to these markets, fig growers sometimes use parthenocarpy.{{sfn|Stover|2008|pp=113–197}} Parthenocarpic cultivars develop ripe fruit without insect pollination.{{sfn|Stover|2008|pp=113–197}}

<gallery class="center" mode="nolines" widths="180" heights="180"> File:Fra angelico - conversion de saint augustin.jpg|Conversion of Saint Augustine by Fra Angelico, c. 1395–1455 File:Clara Peeters - Mesa (Prado) 01.jpg|Still life ''Mesa'' ("Table") with dried figs and other fruits in a bowl by Clara Peeters, 1611 File:Banquet Still Life, Adriaen van Utrecht, 1644 - Rijksmuseum.jpg|Banquet Still Life, Adriaen van Utrecht, 1644 File:Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans, Regent of France and his mistress, Madame de Parabère, as Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (1717, Jean Baptiste Santerre).jpg|Fig leaves have been used to cover the genitals in artworks,<ref name="Babbs 2024"/> as in Jean Baptiste Santerre's 1717 Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. File:4223 - Venezia - Palazzo ducale - Capitello 27 - Fici - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 30-Jul-2008.jpg|Basket of figs in sculptural detail of the Bridge of Sighs, Doge's Palace, Venice, 1600 </gallery>

== Notes ==

== References == ===Citations=== {{reflist}}

===Sources=== * {{citation |last=Stover |first=E. |title=The Fig: Botany, Horticulture, and Breeding |year=2007 |publisher=Horticultural Reviews |volume=33 |isbn=978-0-4717-3912-4 }} * {{citation |last=Stover |first=E. |title=The Fig: Botany, Horticulture, and Breeding |year=2008 |publisher=Horticultural Reviews |volume=34 |isbn= }} * {{citation |last=Williams |first=R. |title=Jaina Yoga: A Survey of the Mediaeval Śrāvakācāras |year=1983 |orig-year=1963 |location=Delhi |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0775-4 }}

== External links ==

Category:Ficus Fig Category:Flora of temperate Asia Category:Flora of Europe Category:Flora of North Africa Category:Least concern flora of Asia Category:Least concern flora of Europe Category:Garden plants of Africa Category:Garden plants of Asia Category:National symbols of Chad Category:National symbols of Niger Category:Fruits originating in Asia Category:Ornamental trees Category:Aphrodisiac foods Category:Plants in the Bible Category:Garden of Eden Category:Book of Deuteronomy Category:Book of Micah Category:Plants described in 1753 Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus