Figs -Genus
French, figue; German, feige; Italian
fico; Latin, ficus; Greek, sykon
The Moraceae consist of Figs ficus
carica, Mulberries morus alba, rubra, nigra and macroura and the Che
cundrania tricuspidata. Ficus
Carica, the common fig tree, is a member of the mulberry family, with
distinctive lobed palmate leaves and pear-shaped fruit - green, brown
or purple with a thin to moderately tough skin covering a fleshy inside.
It hardly seems possible that these three fruits can be related but
here we have another of nature's mysteries. The trees and leaves all
have similarities but the fruits are quite different.
Figs in History
Figs appear in the earliest recorded
history. When Cato advocated the conquest of Carthage, he used as his
crowning argument the advantage of acquiring fruits as glorious as the
North African figs, specimens of which he pulled from his toga as exhibits
in the Roman Senate. These fruits have become so popular in America
that many varieties - purplish, brownish and greenish-are grown in profusion.
Of the three members of the Moraceae
family, the fig has spread most widely. It was first recorded in the
tablets of Lagash in Sumer (2738-2371) BC and has since appeared in
the recorded history from Egypt to Greece, where it was a staple food
of both rich and poor. The fig was such a staple food that Egyptian
armies are recorded as having cut down the figs and vines of their enemies,
and whole baskets of figs have been discovered among the tomb offerings
of dynastic kings. Homer wrote of figs when he described the orchard
of Alcinous, visited by Ulysses, which featured figs, olives, pomegranates,
apples and pears. The poet Alexis of Thuria in the 4th century celebrated
the fare of the average Greek which included "that God-given inheritance
of our mother country, darling of my heart, a dried fig." Cleopatra
ended her life with an asp brought to her in a basket of figs.
The fig probably originated in Asia
Minor, and has been highly regarded from the earliest times as a major
contributor to the diets of many countries. Figs were one of the crops
that became known in China during the T'ang dynasty which rose to power
in the 700's BC. Its importance in Hellenic culture and economic life
is second only that that of the grape and the olive.
Pliny the Elder (AD 23 - 79) records several stories about fig trees
in Rome. He asserts that a sacred fig tree grows in the Roman Forum.
Alluding to the myth that Rome was founded by the twins, Romulus and
Remus, who suckled on a she-wolf, Pliny tells us that, "This tree
is known as Ruminalis because the she-wolf was discovered beneath it
giving her teats (rumis in Latin) to the infant boys."Another
fig tree grows in the Forum where a chasm had opened up. Soothsayers
had predicted that only by throwing Rome's greatest treasure into the
chasm, would it be filled. Marcus Curtius, mounted on his noble steed,
asserted that he would fill the hole with the greatest treasures - virtue,
a sense of duty, and his own death. He leapt into the hole and the earth
closed around him. According to legend a self-seeded fig tree sprouted
here.
In the first half of the sixteenth
century, the fig was brought to England by Cardinal Pole, a few years
before Cortez introduced the tree to Mexico. Fig trees reached North
America in about 1790.
Fig (Ficus) Trees
The tree is deciduous with large,
rough textured leaves which have three lobes. We have all seen these
leaves tailor-made to cover parts of statues. I am not sure whether
this was to preserve the dignity of the statue or that of the viewing
public, or perhaps it was only a reflection of the old Biblical story
of Adam and Eve. The tree tolerates a wide range of temperatures, making
it suitable for cultivation in a wide variety of landscapes and climates.
Hot dry summers and cool moist winters are perfect for a thriving fig
tree.
In Australia there are also number
of wild fig trees, the largest of which is the Morton Bay fig which
grows a huge canopy of glossy green leaves that covers a massive grey
trunk and huge spreading roots. The fruits are small and hard but loved
by the bird population. With its smooth grey arms widespread, it easily
supports the weight of climbing children. In spring with its leafy canopy
it can be a hiding place from which children can peep outwards at the
world. In autumn, it gives a wonderful crop of fruit to be eaten fresh
or preserved for later pleasure. I had a wonderful fig tree, when I
lived in Murray Bridge. Its branches spread so wide and strong that
I could sit perched in the upper branches to seek out its fruit, at
just the right state of ripeness, for fig jam. I picked the figs when
the bottom two thirds of the fig was a pale shade of bronze and the
top one third at the stem end was still green.
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