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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Common Fig
| status = LC
| image = Fig tree.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Common Fig foliage and fruit
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Rosales]]
| familia = [[Moraceae]]
| genus = ''[[Fig|Ficus]]''
| subgenus = ''Ficus''
| species = '''''F. carica'''''
| binomial = ''Ficus carica''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
The '''Common Fig''' (''Ficus carica'') is a large, [[deciduous]], [[shrub]] or small [[tree]] native to southwest [[Asia]] and the eastern [[Mediterranean]] region ([[Greece]] east to [[Afghanistan]]).
==Description==
It grows to a height of 3-10 m tall, with smooth grey [[bark]].
The [[leaf|leaves]] are 12-25 cm long and 10-18 cm across, and deeply lobed with three or five lobes.
The [[fruit]] is the well-known [[fig]], 3-5 cm long, green ripening purple. The [[sap]] of the tree's green parts is an irritant to human skin.
===Cultivation and uses===
[[Image:Figs.jpg|thumb|240px|left|Fresh figs cut open showing the flesh and seeds inside]]
[[Image:Dumur_in_Bangla%29.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Fig of Bengal locally called Dumur]]
The Common Fig is widely grown for its edible [[fruit]] throughout its natural range and also in the rest of the [[Mediterranean]] region and other areas of the world with a similar climate, including [[Australia]], [[Chile]], [[South Africa]], and [[California]], [[Oregon]], [[Texas]], and [[Washington]] in the [[United States]].
The edible fig is one of the first plants that was cultivated by humans. An article in ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'' stated that nine fossilized figs dating to about 9400-9200 BC were found in the early [[Neolithic]] village [[Gilgal I]] in the [[Jordan Valley]]. As the figs were of the [[parthenocarpic]] type, they are of an early domestic breed. The find predates the domestication of [[wheat]], [[barley]] and [[legume]]s, and may thus be the first known instance of [[agriculture]].<ref name=oldest>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5038116.stm Fig fossil clue to early farming], [[BBC News]], [[2 June]] [[2006]]</ref> Thousands of [[cultivar]]s, most unnamed, have been developed or come into existence as human migration brought the fig to many places outside its natural range. It has been an important food crop for thousands of years, and was also thought to be highly beneficial in the diet.
Figs can be eaten fresh or dried, and used in [[jam]]-making. Most commercial production is in dried or otherwise processed forms, since the ripe fruit does not transport well, and once picked does not keep well. In [[Bengal]], the fruit is called ''Dumur''. It is cooked as a vegetable and is believed to be good for heart ailments.
'''Propagation :''' The flower is invisible, as it blooms inside the fruit. The small orifice visible on the middle fruit is a narrow passage, which allows a very specialised wasp, called [[Fig wasp]]) to enter the fruit & pollinate the flower, whereafter the fruit grows seeds.
===Cultural & literary aspects===
{{nutritionalvalue | name=Fig, dried, uncooked | kJ=1041 | protein=3.30 g | fat=0.93 g | carbs=63.87 g | fiber=9.8 g | | sugars=47.92 g | iron_mg=2.03 | calcium_mg=162 | magnesium_mg=68 | phosphorus_mg=67 | potassium_mg=680 | zinc_mg=0.55 | vitC_mg=1.2 | pantothenic_mg=0.434 | vitB6_mg=0.106 | folate_ug=9 | thiamin_mg=0.085 | riboflavin_mg=0.082 | niacin_mg=0.619 | right=1 | source_usda=1 }}
In the book of [[Genesis]] in the [[Bible]], [[Adam and Eve]] clad themselves with [[fig leaf|fig leaves]] after eating the "[[Forbidden fruit]]" from the [[Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil]]. Likewise, fig leaves, or depictions of fig leaves, have long been used to cover the [[genitals]] of nude figures in painting and sculpture. Often these fig leaves were added by art collectors or exhibitors long after the original work was completed.
The use of the fig leaf as a protector of modesty or shield of some kind has entered the language.
The biblical quote "each man under his own vine and fig tree" (1 Kings 4:25) 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|Jewish Homeland]]{{Fact|date=April 2007}}. .Fig trees are also mentioned in [[Qur'an]] in many places.
Since the flower is invisible, there is a [[Bengali]] proverb : ''tumi jeno dumurer phool hoe gele'' = you have become (invisible like) the dumur flower. The derisive English idiom ''I don't care a fig'' probably originates from the abundance of this fruit.
In [[Greek mythology]] the god [[Apollo]] sends a crow to collect water from a stream for him. the crow sees a fig tree and waits for the figs to ripen, tempted by the fruit. He knows that he is late and that his tardiness will be punished so he gets a snake from the stream and collects the water. He presents Apollo with the water and uses the snake as an excuse. Apollo sees through the crow's lie and throws the crow, goblet, and snake into the sky where they suposivy make the constellations [[Hydra (constellation)]], [[Crater (constellation)]] and [[Corvus (constellation)]].
==Production trends==
[[Image:2005fig.PNG|thumb|left|Fig output in 2005]]
[[FAO]] reports that Turkey was the top fig producer in 2005 followed by Egypt and other Mediterranean countries.
==Picture gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Tree leaf, Matson Photograph Collection, ca 1925-1946.jpg|Common Fig leaves and fruit
Image:Masaccio-TheExpulsionOfAdamAndEveFromEden-Restoration.jpg|''The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden'' - [[fresco]] depicting a distressed Adam and Eve, with and without fig leaves, by [[Tommaso Masaccio]], 1426-27
== Notes and references ==
<!-- This article uses [[Wikipedia:Footnotes]]. Please use this format when adding references to material in the article. External links added directly to this section will be swiftly deleted without notice. -->
<references/>
==External link==
* {{PDFlink|[http://californiaagriculture.ucop.edu/0702AMJ/pdfs/FigMonographHilgardia.pdf FIG VARIETIES: A MONOGRAPH]|4.11 [[Mebibyte|MiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 4318438 bytes -->}}
[[Category:Accessory fruit|Fig, Common]]
[[Category:Flora of Armenia|Fig, Common]]
[[Category:Flora of Asia|Fig, Common]]
[[Category:Flora of Europe|Fig, Common]]
[[Category:Flora of Greece|Fig, Common]]
[[Category:Ficus|Fig, Common]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = Common Fig
| status = LC
| image = Fig tree.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Common Fig foliage and fruit
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Rosales]]
| familia = [[Moraceae]]
| genus = ''[[Fig|Ficus]]''
| subgenus = ''Ficus''
| species = '''''F. carica'''''
| binomial = ''Ficus carica''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
The '''Common Fig''' (''Ficus carica'') is a large, [[deciduous]], [[shrub]] or small [[tree]] native to southwest [[Asia]] and the eastern [[Mediterranean]] region ([[Greece]] east to [[Afghanistan]]).
==Description==
It grows to a height of 3-10 m tall, with smooth grey [[bark]].
The [[leaf|leaves]] are 12-25 cm long and 10-18 cm across, and deeply lobed with three or five lobes.
The [[fruit]] is the well-known [[fig]], 3-5 cm long, green ripening purple. The [[sap]] of the tree's green parts is an irritant to human skin.
===Cultivation and uses===
[[Image:Figs.jpg|thumb|240px|left|Fresh figs cut open showing the flesh and seeds inside]]
[[Image:Dumur_in_Bangla%29.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Fig of Bengal locally called Dumur]]
The Common Fig is widely grown for its edible [[fruit]] throughout its natural range and also in the rest of the [[Mediterranean]] region and other areas of the world with a similar climate, including [[Australia]], [[Chile]], [[South Africa]], and [[California]], [[Oregon]], [[Texas]], and [[Washington]] in the [[United States]].
The edible fig is one of the first plants that was cultivated by humans. An article in ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'' stated that nine fossilized figs dating to about 9400-9200 BC were found in the early [[Neolithic]] village [[Gilgal I]] in the [[Jordan Valley]]. As the figs were of the [[parthenocarpic]] type, they are of an early domestic breed. The find predates the domestication of [[wheat]], [[barley]] and [[legume]]s, and may thus be the first known instance of [[agriculture]].<ref name=oldest>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5038116.stm Fig fossil clue to early farming], [[BBC News]], [[2 June]] [[2006]]</ref> Thousands of [[cultivar]]s, most unnamed, have been developed or come into existence as human migration brought the fig to many places outside its natural range. It has been an important food crop for thousands of years, and was also thought to be highly beneficial in the diet.
Figs can be eaten fresh or dried, and used in [[jam]]-making. Most commercial production is in dried or otherwise processed forms, since the ripe fruit does not transport well, and once picked does not keep well. In [[Bengal]], the fruit is called ''Dumur''. It is cooked as a vegetable and is believed to be good for heart ailments.
'''Propagation :''' The flower is invisible, as it blooms inside the fruit. The small orifice visible on the middle fruit is a narrow passage, which allows a very specialised wasp, called [[Fig wasp]]) to enter the fruit & pollinate the flower, whereafter the fruit grows seeds.
===Cultural & literary aspects===
{{nutritionalvalue | name=Fig, dried, uncooked | kJ=1041 | protein=3.30 g | fat=0.93 g | carbs=63.87 g | fiber=9.8 g | | sugars=47.92 g | iron_mg=2.03 | calcium_mg=162 | magnesium_mg=68 | phosphorus_mg=67 | potassium_mg=680 | zinc_mg=0.55 | vitC_mg=1.2 | pantothenic_mg=0.434 | vitB6_mg=0.106 | folate_ug=9 | thiamin_mg=0.085 | riboflavin_mg=0.082 | niacin_mg=0.619 | right=1 | source_usda=1 }}
In the book of [[Genesis]] in the [[Bible]], [[Adam and Eve]] clad themselves with [[fig leaf|fig leaves]] after eating the "[[Forbidden fruit]]" from the [[Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil]]. Likewise, fig leaves, or depictions of fig leaves, have long been used to cover the [[genitals]] of nude figures in painting and sculpture. Often these fig leaves were added by art collectors or exhibitors long after the original work was completed.
The use of the fig leaf as a protector of modesty or shield of some kind has entered the language.
The biblical quote "each man under his own vine and fig tree" (1 Kings 4:25) 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|Jewish Homeland]]{{Fact|date=April 2007}}. .Fig trees are also mentioned in [[Qur'an]] in many places.
Since the flower is invisible, there is a [[Bengali]] proverb : ''tumi jeno dumurer phool hoe gele'' = you have become (invisible like) the dumur flower. The derisive English idiom ''I don't care a fig'' probably originates from the abundance of this fruit.
In [[Greek mythology]] the god [[Apollo]] sends a crow to collect water from a stream for him. the crow sees a fig tree and waits for the figs to ripen, tempted by the fruit. He knows that he is late and that his tardiness will be punished so he gets a snake from the stream and collects the water. He presents Apollo with the water and uses the snake as an excuse. Apollo sees through the crow's lie and throws the crow, goblet, and snake into the sky where they suposivy make the constellations [[Hydra (constellation)]], [[Crater (constellation)]] and [[Corvus (constellation)]].
==Production trends==
[[Image:2005fig.PNG|thumb|left|Fig output in 2005]]
[[FAO]] reports that Turkey was the top fig producer in 2005 followed by Egypt and other Mediterranean countries.
==Picture gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Tree leaf, Matson Photograph Collection, ca 1925-1946.jpg|Common Fig leaves and fruit
Image:Masaccio-TheExpulsionOfAdamAndEveFromEden-Restoration.jpg|''The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden'' - [[fresco]] depicting a distressed Adam and Eve, with and without fig leaves, by [[Tommaso Masaccio]], 1426-27
== Notes and references ==
<!-- This article uses [[Wikipedia:Footnotes]]. Please use this format when adding references to material in the article. External links added directly to this section will be swiftly deleted without notice. -->
<references/>
==External link==
* {{PDFlink|[http://californiaagriculture.ucop.edu/0702AMJ/pdfs/FigMonographHilgardia.pdf FIG VARIETIES: A MONOGRAPH]|4.11 [[Mebibyte|MiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 4318438 bytes -->}}
[[Category:Accessory fruit|Fig, Common]]
[[Category:Flora of Armenia|Fig, Common]]
[[Category:Flora of Asia|Fig, Common]]
[[Category:Flora of Europe|Fig, Common]]
[[Category:Flora of Greece|Fig, Common]]
[[Category:Ficus|Fig, Common]]