Common fig, higuera

Description:

The Common fig tree has been cultivated since ancient times and grows wild in dry and sunny areas, with deep and fresh soil; also in rocky areas, from sea level to 1,700 meters. Like all fig trees, Ficus carica requires wasp pollination of a particular species of wasp to produce seeds. Ficus carica is a monoecious, deciduous tree or a large shrub. It is native to the Middle East.It grows to a height of 6.9–10 metres tall, with smooth grey bark. Ficus carica is well known for its large, fragrant leaves. The leaves are deeply lobed with three or five lobes. The complex inflorescence of the common fig consists of a hollow fleshy structure called the syconium, which is lined with numerous unisexual flowers. The edible fig fruit is the mature syconium on the outside and numerous one-seeded fruits (druplets) on the inside. This type of multiple fruit is sometimes called infructescence. The fruithas a green skin, sometimes ripening towards purple or brown. Ficus carica has milky sap (laticifer). The sap of the fig's green parts is an irritant to human skin. This sap, called "latex", is extracted for industrial purposes in the related Ficus elastica.

Habitat:

In a village backyard

Notes:

Two crops of figs are potentially produced each year. The first or breva crop develops in the spring on last year's shoot growth. In contrast, the main fig crop develops on the current year's shoot growth and ripens in the late summer or fall. The main crop is generally superior in both quantity and quality than the breva crop. However, some cultivars produce good breva crops. The edible fig is one of the first plants that was cultivated by humans.