Ficus carica (Fig)

Native: West Asia, eastern Mediterranean

Location: Cultivated through south Europe and in California for its sweet fruits which are eaten raw, tinned, dried or sugared.

Often low and bushy. Varieties cultivated for fruit may often produce several crops in one year, but in cool climates flowers form in May and ripen in October.

Foliage

Leaves may have three or five lobes.

Flowers

Male and female flowers are produced on separate trees and are unusual in that they are borne inside a fleshy receptacle which develops into the fruit. They are pollinated by fig wasps which crawl through a tiny hole at the tip.

Fruits

Fruit is fleshy and may be green, purple or brown. Fruits have a mild laxative effect.