ALABAMA A&M AND AUBURN UNIVERSITIES Fig …

1 Group (or SanPedro) figs do not need polli-nation to set a breba cropearly in the season onold wood, but they doneed it for the maincrop in some envi-ronments. Examplesare King, Lampeira,and San VarietiesCondit s massive Fig Varieties: AMonograph (see Suggested Reading) iden-tifies 89 caprifig, 129 Smyrna, 21 San Pedro,and 481 common fig varieties for a total of 720 va-rieties. Some of these varieties were never intro-duced into the United States; others were tried,found wanting, and discarded. This publication listsmore than 50 varieties including most of the figsavailable in the trade plus a few other varietiesthought worthy of wider use.

2 The varieties are di-vided into green and yellow figs and dark-coloredfigs and are arranged alphabetically by their mostcommon name. Bold type is used to designate the correct name, or the one found in Condit s au-thoritative monograph on fig varieties. If the nameis not in bold type, the variety is not covered byCondit or later and Yellow FigsAdriatic - A medium-sized green to greenishyellow fig shaped like a top, with light strawberrypulp and good flavor. Turbinate with a small neckor no neck. Very subject to mosaic virus. Welladapted in the Northwest but disappointing in theSouth. Fairly hardy. Good for drying. Synonyms:Chico, Grosse Verte, Nebian, Strawberry, VerdoneAlma- A small- to medium-sized goldenbrown, pear-shaped (pyriform) fig with amberpulp.

3 Sweet and delicate flavor. Bred by TexasA&M and released in 1975. Well adapted in theSoutheast. Highly resistant to fruit rots. Wood isvery common fig is amember of the genusFicus,which is in thefamily Moraceae(mul-berries). Ficusis alarge genus withsome 2,000 tropicaland subtropicaltree, shrub, andvine species distrib-uted around thewarmer parts of theworld. The only Ficuscultivated for their fruit are thespecies F. carica(the common fig) and (the sycamore fig of Egypt). Hybrids arepossible with a few other species including , F. pseudo-carica,and F. pumila,the fruitsof which are edible but not fruit of all Ficusspecies is the syconium,an enlarged, fleshy, hollow peduncle that bearsclosely massed, tiny flowers on its inner wall.

4 Thetrue fruits are tiny drupelets that develop fromthese flowers. When we eat a fig, we are eating thecontainer that holds the true are two basic types of figs: caprifigs andedible figs. Caprifigs bear both male and femaleflowers but are generally unpalatable since they arerather dry and pithy and have chaffy stamen struc-tures. Edible figs bear only female flowers. Thereare many varieties of edible figs that fall into thefollowing three fruiting (or Smyrna) figs need pollinationto set crops. Without pollination, the fruit drops be-fore it matures. Caprifigs furnish the pollen of caducous figs are Marabout, Calimyrna(or Sari Lop), and (or common) figs do not need pol-lination to set crops and are the type home garden-ers most commonly grow.

5 Examples are BlackMission, Brown Turkey, Celeste, Brunswick, A&M AND AUBURN UNIVERSITIESV isit our Web site ProductionGuide2 ALABAMA Cooperative Extension SystemBlanche - An old, reliable variety usually calledLemon in the South. A medium to large greenishyellow fig with white pulp and many seeds. Top-shaped (turbinate) without a neck. Sweet and deli-cate flavor with a nutty texture from the soft specimens produce fruit that have open eyes;others have fruit with relatively closed eyes. Welladapted in the South. Fairly hardy. Synonyms:Bianci, Lemon, Marseilles, Mayes Yellow, WhiteMarseilles, White RussianBrunswick- A medium to large fig withbronzy yellow skin and rich flavor.

6 Oblique-turbinate. Well adapted in the Southwest and drierareas of the South. The fruit is ruined by excessiverain since it has open eyes. Fairly hardy. Synonyms:Dalmatian, Madonna, MagnoliaCalimyrna - The California commercial fig. Alarge yellow fig with amber pulp and a large openeye. Oblate-spherical. Sweet, very rich nutty seeds. Smyrna type. Needs practical for southern growers. Synonyms:Erbeyli, Lop Injir, Sari LopConadria - A medium to large yellow-green figwith light strawberry pulp and rich flavor. Bred byIra Condit and released in 1957. Pyriform. Welladapted in California and the Southeast. Hardy withgood rebound from freezes.

7 Synonyms: AdriaticHybrid, Verdone HybridExcel - A medium-sized yellow fig with amberpulp. Also bred by Ira Condit and released in to spherical. Well adapted in trials in the Southeast are very to be very hardy. Superb flavor. Synonym:Kadota HybridFlanders - A greenish yellow medium-sized figwith violet stripes and amber pulp. Bred and re-leased by Ira Condit in 1975. Pyriform with a long,slender neck. Fine flavor. Plants are vigorous butnot particularly hardy. Good on the West : Verdone HybridGillette - A large, edible caprifig with fair with a distinct neck. Adapted in northernCalifornia and the Northwest. Not so good in theSouth.

8 Synonyms: Croisic,Cordelia, Pingo de MelGreen Ischia - A small grass-green fig with darkstrawberry pulp. Oblate to spherical. Small, fairlywell-closed eye. Good quality but not as good asBrown Turkey. Matures late. Fairly : Coeur, Verdale, VerteGulbun - A large light green to pale yellow figwith a translucent pulp tinged with pink. Good fla-vor. Seems moderately hardy. Bred by Ira : Galbun, JewelIschia - A small- to medium-sized yellow fig withfair flavor. Oblate to spherical with or without a shortneck. Well adapted in coastal California. Its quality inthe South is poor. Synonyms: Brockett Hall, Singleton,White IschiaJurupa - A very large green fig with pink pulpand a medium-sized closed eye.

9 Pyriform. A Condithybrid selected by Julius Enderud. Good trial in the South. Somewhat hardy but tends toleaf out early a negative point in areas with - A greenish white small- to medium-sizedfig. Pyriform. Vigorous. Delicious fresh or dried. It is arich, sweet, all-purpose fig and the most commoncanned fig. Well adapted in the Southwest and drierareas of the South. Fairly hardy. Synonyms: Dottato,Honey FigKing - A medium-sized greenish yellow fig withstrawberry pulp. Pyriform to oblique. It ripens a largebreba crop between late June and August. A SanPedro type, it sometimes sets main-crop figs withoutpollination. Sweet and rich.

10 Well adapted in theNorthwest and cooler areas of the South. Fairly : Desert King, White KingLattarula - A medium to large yellowish green figwidely grown in the Northwest. It is said to be verysweet. Condit does not identify it as a distinct varietyand considers it a synonym for Blanche. AlabamaExtension horticulturists reserve judgment pendingfurther study. Synonym: Italian Honey FigLSU Gold - A large yellow fig blushed with pulp. Its flavor is outstanding. Rumored tohave been bred at Louisiana State University butnever officially released. Has a small eye that leakshoneydew. Deserves wider Lane - A medium-sized yellow unidentifiedfig said to have originated in California.