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Common Fig (Ficus carica)

Common Fig is a deciduous shrub or small tree cultivated for its sweet, pear-shaped fruits (syconia). It has large, lobed, rough-textured leaves. The fruit develops without pollination in most cultivars. A staple of Mediterranean gardens and cuisine for millennia.

Botanical Profile

Family:	Moraceae (mor-AY-see-ee)
Genus:	Ficus (FY-kus)
Species:	carica (KAIR-ih-kuh)

Cultivation and Uses

Full sun and well-drained soil. Drought-tolerant once established. Fruits ripen in late summer to fall. Can be grown in containers. The milky sap can irritate skin. Prune in winter to maintain size. One of the oldest cultivated fruits, delicious fresh, dried, or preserved.

Tree: Common Bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris): The Classic Tropical Clumping Bamboo; Common Bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris): Giant Tropical Clumping Bamboo; Black Sedge (Carex nigra): A Common, Rhizomatous Sedge of Wet European Meadows; Common Rice (Oryza sativa); 'Celeste' Fig (Ficus carica 'Celeste'): Cold-Hardy Honey-Sweet Fig; Roxburgh Fig: The Elephant Ear Fig with Giant Leaves; European Beech (Fagus sylvatica): Majestic Forest Tree for Grand Landscapes; English Thyme (Thymus vulgaris): The Classic Culinary Thyme for Every Herb Garden; Common Barberry (Berberis vulgaris): Thorny Shrub with Tart Berries; Pineapple (Ananas comosus): Edible Bromeliad for Tropical Gardens

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