Ficus carica

Fig

Family: Moraceae

Zone: 7-10                            Average Size:10-20’H x 20’W

Identification:

-Broad, mounding form, usually multiple trunks
-Simple leaf, 3-5 prominent lobes with a rough pubescence, dark green with light veins
-Stout branches with light gray bark
-Pear-shaped fruit (syconium), 1-2 inches in diameter, yellow, purple and brown in mid summer

Note: -Native to the Mediterranean, the fig is a popular old world fruit tree and widely planted in the lower South. Performing best on fertile, well-drained soils, the fig is quite adaptable and makes an interesting small tree or large shrub in full sunlight to partial shade. The large leaves provide a very coarse texture followed by the equally coarse texture of the stout, gray branches in the winter after leaf drop. Although ‘Celeste’ and ‘Brown Turkey’ are common in the nursery trade and both reliably produce small brown fruit, many larger fruiting selections exist including ‘LSU Gold’ and ‘LSU Purple’.

Campus Location: Hill Farm Teaching Facility, orchard