Family:

Moraceae

Habitat:

Ruderal habitats, damp places with dry climate

Growth habit:

woody shrub/tree

Plant size:

Height 10 - 15 m

Flower colour:

Flowering time

February - September

Leaf characteristics:

Long-stalked leaves, up to 20 cm wide, broadly oval to palmately lobed, almost entire, often deeply three- to five-lobed, rounded lobes, alternate

Flower characteristics:

Flower not externally visible, sessile in inner sides of pitcher-shaped depressed inflorescence axils, openings closed by scale leaves

Fruits:

Nut fruits (aggregate inflorescence), inflorescences form the fleshy, swollen inflorescence when ripe. Ripening time, colour of the pulp, shape and colouring of the skin vary greatly.

Special features:

The fig probably originates from the Near East and is characterised by its thick shoots and soft woodiness. The bark is light grey. As a result of thousands of years of cultivation, two different forms have developed: the cultivated fig and the buck, wood or capri fig. The fruit of the fig can also develop without pollination (parthenocarpic), but no seeds are formed. The seeds give the fruit a nutty flavour and the fruit usually develops after pollination. The fruits are inedible before ripening due to a corrosive milky sap.