Ficus carica

Ficus carica is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, known as the common fig. It is the source of the fruit also called the fig, and as such is an important crop in those areas where it is grown commercially. Native to the Middle East and western Asia, it has been sought out and cultivated since ancient times, and is now widely grown throughout the world, both for its fruit and as an ornamental plant.

Description

The Ficus carica tree is a deciduous tree or large shrub, growing to a height of 7–10 metres (23–33 ft), with smooth white bark. Its fragrant leaves are 12–25 centimetres (4.7–9.8 in) long and 10–18 centimetres (3.9–7.1 in) wide, and are deeply lobed with three or five lobes. The complex inflorescence consists of a hollow fleshy structure called the syconium, which is lined with numerous unisexual flowers. The fruit, also called the fig, is a small, pear-shaped, infructescence that is really a fleshy hollow receptacle (the syconium) lined with numerous tiny flowers.

Cultivation and uses

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' and 'Ice Crystal' (mainly grown for its unusual foliage) have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

History

The fig is one of the oldest fruits known to man and was a staple food for the Romans. The fig was also revered in ancient Rome where it was considered a sacred fruit. According to Roman myth, the wolf that nurtured the twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, rested under a fig tree.

See also

• List of fig cultivars
• Fig wasp
• Fig leaf
• Fig paste