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The fig is the edible fruit of Ficus carica, a species of tree or shrub in the flowering plant family Moraceae, Native plant to the Mediterranean region, together with western and southern Asia. It has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world. The Fig: its History, Culture, and Curing, Gustavus A. Eisen, Washington, Govt. print. off., 1901 (2025). 9781405332965, Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 9781405332965 Ficus carica is the type species of the genus Ficus, which comprises over 800 tropical and subtropical plant species.
A fig plant is a deciduous tree or large shrub, growing up to tall, with smooth white bark. Its large leaves have three to five deep lobes. Its fruit (of a type referred to as syconium) is teardrop-shaped, long, initially green but may ripen toward purple or brown, and has sweet soft reddish flesh containing numerous crunchy seeds. The milky sap of the green parts of the plant is an irritant to human skin. In the Northern hemisphere, fresh figs are in season from late August to early October. They tolerate moderate seasonal drought and can be grown even in hot-summer continental climates.
Figs can be eaten fresh or dried, or 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% , with negligible protein, fat and micronutrient content. They are a moderate source of dietary fiber.
In 2018, world production of raw figs was 1.14 million , led by Turkey and North African countries (Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria) as the largest producers, collectively accounting for 64% of the total.
The fig fruit develops as a hollow, fleshy structure called the syconium that is lined internally with numerous unisexual flowers. The tiny flowers bloom inside this cup-like structure. Although commonly called a fruit, the syconium is botanically an infructescence, a type of multiple fruit. The small fig flowers and later small single-seeded (true) fruits line its interior surface. A small opening or ostiole, visible on the middle of the fruit, is a narrow passage that allows the specialized fig wasp, Blastophaga psenes, to enter the inflorescence and pollinate the flowers, after which each fertilized ovule (one per flower, in its ovary) develops into a seed. At maturity, these 'seeds' (actually single-seeded fruits) line the inside of each fig.
The edible mature syconium develops into a fleshy false fruit bearing the numerous one-seeded fruits, which are technically drupe. Wayne's Word: Sex Determination & Life Cycle in Ficus carica The whole fig fruit is long, with a green skin that sometimes ripens toward purple or brown. Ficus carica has milky sap, produced by laticifer cells. The sap of the green parts is an irritant to human skin.
The species has become naturalized in scattered locations in Asia and North America.
The plant tolerates seasonal drought, and the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean climates are especially suitable to it. Situated in a favorable habitat, mature specimens can grow to considerable size as large, dense, shade trees. Its aggressive root system precludes its cultivation in many urban locations, yet in nature this characteristic helps the plant to root in the most inhospitable locations. Having a great need of water, it is mostly a phreatophyte that extracts the needed water from sources in or on the ground. Consequently, it frequently grows in locations with standing or running water, e. g. in valleys of rivers and in ravines that collect water. The deeply rooted plant searches for groundwater in , , or cracks in rocks. With access to this water, the tree cools the hot environments in which it grows, thus producing fresh and pleasant habitat for many animals that shelter in its shade during periods of intense heat.
The mountain or rock fig () 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.
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 (); 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 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.
Figs were also a common food source for the Ancient Rome. Cato the Elder, in his 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. The fruits were used, among other things, to fatten geese for the production of a precursor of foie gras. Rome's first Roman Emperor, Augustus, was reputed to have been poisoned with figs from his garden smeared with poison by his wife Livia.Mary Beard (2025). 9780871407160, Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company. . ISBN 9780871407160 For this reason, or perhaps because of her horticultural expertise, a variety of fig known as the Liviana was cultivated in Roman gardens.Mary Beard (2025). 9780871407160, Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company. . ISBN 9780871407160
It was cultivated from Afghanistan to Portugal, also grown in Pithoragarh in the Kumaon division hills of India. From the 15th century onwards, it was grown in areas including Northern Europe and the New World. In the 16th century, Cardinal Reginald Pole introduced fig trees to Lambeth Palace in London.
In 1769, Spanish missionaries led by Junipero Serra brought the first figs to California. The Mission fig variety, which they cultivated, is still popular.Roeding, George C. (1903) The Smyrna Fig: At Home and Abroad; published by the author, Fresno, CA, USA The fact that it is parthenocarpic (self-pollinating) made it an ideal cultivar for introduction.
The Kadota cultivar is even older, being mentioned by the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder in the 1st century AD.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 Pliny recorded thirty varieties of figs.
The name Kadota did not exist in the era of Pliny the Elder nor is it mentioned in Pliny's works. Also only 29 figs were recorded in his work; Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, English translation by John Bostock and H.T. Riley, Book XV, CHAP. 19. (18.)—TWENTY-NINE VARIETIES OF THE FIG.
The Kadota name was created in the early 20th century in California, US, to name a "sport" or genetic deviation from a Dotatto fig tree as documented in The Kadota Fig: A Treatise On Its Origin, Planting And Care by W. Sam Clark.
Figs are also grown in Germany, mainly in private gardens inside built up areas. There is no commercial fig growing. Die Feigenernte in Kraichgau und Pfalz läuft auf Hochtouren (English: The fig harvest in Kraichgau and the Palatinate is in full swing) at Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung. The Palatine region in the German South West has an estimated 80,000 fig trees. The variety Brown Turkey is the most widespread in the region.Christoph Seiler: Feigen aus dem eigenen Garten (English: Figs from your own garden), Stuttgart 2016, page 64. 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.Christoph Seiler: Feigen aus dem eigenen Garten. Stuttgart 2016, pages 75 and 78.
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 (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.
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.
Two crops of figs can be produced each year. The first or breba crop develops in the spring on last year's shoot growth. 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 quantity and quality, but some cultivars such as 'Black Mission', 'Croisic', and 'Ventura' produce good breba crops.
There are three types of edible figs:
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.Janick, Jules & Moore, James (editors) (1975) Advances in Fruit Breeding; pgs 568–588: Figs, by Storey, W.B.; Purdue University Press, West Lafayette, IN, USA
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 Gene bank 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".
| 320,000 | |
| 201,212 | |
| 144,246 | |
| 116,143 | |
| 107,791 | |
| 59,900 | |
| 46,502 | |
| 27,084 | |
| 21,889 | |
| 19,840 | |
| 19,601 | |
| 1,264,943 | |
| Source: United Nations FAOSTAT | |
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 as the largest producers, collectively accounting for 62% of the total.
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.
Freshly harvested figs underwent two distinct drying methods for preservation. The first method was natural sun-drying, where the figs were exposed to the warmth and light of the sun. The second method involved oven-drying, where the figs were placed in a controlled temperature environment within an oven. Each process has its unique impact on the texture and flavor profile of the dried figs.
When food drying to 30% water, figs have a carbohydrate content of 64%, protein content of 3%, and fat content of 1%. In a 100-gram serving, providing 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.
In fig fruits, the levels of glucose and fructose are nearly identical, with glucose being slightly more prevalent overall, while the presence of sucrose is minimal. Still, in some varieties of figs, the fructose content can occasionally slightly surpass that of glucose.
Since the late 1800s, syrup of figs combined with senna has been available as a laxative.
Organic chemical compounds called are known to cause phytophotodermatitis in humans. The common fig contains significant quantities of two furanocoumarins, psoralen and bergapten. Cited in McGovern and Barkley 2000, section Phytophotodermatitis . The essential oil of fig leaves contains more than 10% psoralen, the highest concentration of any organic compound isolated from fig leaves. Psoralen appears to be the primary furanocoumarin compound responsible for fig leaf-induced phytophotodermatitis.
Psoralen and bergapten are found chiefly in the milky sap of the leaves and shoots of F. carica but not the fruits. Neither psoralen nor bergapten were detected in the essential oil of fig fruits. Thus there is no conclusive evidence that fig fruits cause phytophotodermatitis.
The Book of Deuteronomy specifies the fig as one of the Seven Species (Deuteronomy 8:7–8), describing the fertility of the land of Canaan. This is a set of seven plants indigenous to the Middle East that together can provide food all year round. The list is organized by date of harvest, with the fig being fourth due to its main crop ripening during summer.
The biblical quote "each man under his own vine and fig tree" (Micah 4:4) has been used to denote peace and prosperity. It was commonly quoted to refer to the life that would be led by settlers in the American West, and was used by Theodor Herzl in his depiction of the future zionism: "We are a commonwealth. In form it is new, but in purpose very ancient. Our aim is mentioned in the First Book of Kings: 'Judah and Israel shall dwell securely, each man under his own vine and fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba". United States President George Washington, writing in 1790 to the Touro Synagogue of Newport, Rhode Island, extended the metaphor to denote the equality of all Americans regardless of faith.
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