What Is a Fig?
Okay, get ready for some botanical nerding out, because why else would you be here? A fig isn’t a fruit in the traditional sense. Instead, it’s a structure called a syconium, which is basically, a hollow fleshy sac lined with tiny flowers inside. And yes, I tried my best to make that sound as creepy and unappealing as I possibly could.
When you eat a fig, you’re technically eating hundreds of tiny inverted flowers that bloomed inside the syconium. Weird, right? The crunchy bits you feel? Those are tiny little seeds, each one connected to a little flower that bloomed out of sight.
Think of it as a garden you eat from the inside out.
A Figgy History
Figs have been around forever (sort of).
Seriously though, people were cultivating figs even before wheat or barley. Archaeologists found fig remains in the Jordan Valley dating back over 11,000 years!! That’s longer than most crops we know and love today.
In fact, figs might be the first domesticated plant (kinda hard to prove it either wa). Ancient people probably noticed wild fig trees popping up from cuttings or dropped fruit and figured out how to get them to grow near settlements.
By the time the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans rolled around, figs were already famous.
Figs show up in Egyptian tomb paintings, Greek myths (hi, Dionysus), and Roman feasts. Pliny the Elder even wrote about figs as a health food, which makes sense, since they’re packed with fiber, minerals, and antioxidants. They’re still seen as a health food today it seems like.
The Romans spread figs all over Europe, and from there they made their way to the Americas. Spanish missionaries planted them in California in the 1700s, hence the name “Mission fig.”
How Do Figs Reproduce?
Here’s where things get super weird and rumors fly about figs. Most figs rely on a special relationship with fig wasps. Yep, tiny wasps crawl inside the fig to pollinate it. In return, the fig provides a safe place for the wasp to lay its eggs. Nature is both beautiful and gross at the same time.
Without the wasp, the fig can’t develop its seeds, and without the fig, the wasp can’t complete its life cycle. It’s a delicate, and very specific dance between plant and insect.
(But don’t worry like my coworker Maxwell did when I told him about this, you’re probably not eating a wasp when you bite into a fig. Commercial varieties like Chicago Hardy are parthenocarpic, which means they don’t need pollination to produce fruit. No wasp required!)
If you’re fascinated by plant symbiosis, check out my post on glowing plants and bioluminescence, because nature has a knack for crazy partnerships!
Why Grow Figs?
Honestly, even without my mom’s strange obsession that turned into my own I think everyone should grow some figs for themselves. They’re awesome. Figs are low maintenance (especially varieties like Chicago Hardy), cold-hardy, yep, even if you live up north, beautiful plants with big tropical-looking leaves, super productive, one tree can give you pounds of fruit, and also self-pollinating (again, no wasps needed for many varieties).
Plus, homegrown figs taste nothing like store-bought. Literally nothing like it. They’re juicier, more flavorful, and you get to pick them at peak ripeness, which grocery stores can’t replicate.
My other coworker Annie was shocked when she tried my figs and said they reminded her of peaches. She asked me for more of them every day this season, and I don’t blame her. She insisted she’d never had a real fig before trying mine.
Fun Fig Facts You’ll Want to Drop at Parties
Because if you’re like me, at parties you’re going to talk about the strangest things ) don’t worry, people will remember you. Try some of these out at your next family gathering or work event.
The word “fig” comes from the Latin ficus.
Figs are mentioned in the Bible over 40 times.
The Buddha achieved enlightenment under a fig tree (specifically a Bodhi tree).
Figs were used as a natural sweetener before sugar cane was widely available.
Cleopatra’s favorite fruit? Figs. Same, girl.
There are over 700 species of fig trees worldwide.
Pretty impressive for something that grows so quietly in the backyard.
See more on the next page
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