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CULTURAL AND WILD PLANTS
Figs (fig, fig tree, common fig tree, fig tree). Legends, myths, symbolism, description, cultivation, methods of application
Directory / Cultivated and wild plants Content
Fig (fig, fig tree, common fig tree, fig tree), Ficus carica. Photos of the plant, basic scientific information, legends, myths, symbolism
Basic scientific information, legends, myths, symbolism Sort by: Fig (Ficus) Family: Mulberry (Moraceae) Origin: Middle East and West Asia Area: The fig is a common cultivated plant in subtropical and temperate regions of the world, including the Mediterranean, North Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Australia, and South America. Chemical composition: Figs are rich in beneficial nutrients, including vitamins A, C, K, B6, manganese, potassium, copper, and folic acid. It also contains antioxidants and phytonutrients such as lecithin, choline, phenylalanine and alpha lipoic acid. Economic value: The fig is a cultivated plant grown for its delicious fruits. Figs can be eaten fresh, dried, or canned, and can be used to make various dishes such as desserts, pies, and breads. In addition, fig leaves can be used to make tea or as a flavoring for dishes. A decoction of fig bark is also used in folk medicine to treat various ailments, including diabetes and asthma. Legends, myths, symbolism: In ancient Greek mythology, the fig was considered a sacred tree, which was dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite. She was a symbol of love, beauty and fertility. In Jewish and Christian tradition, the fig was one of the oldest known fruit trees, and is found in the Bible. It is also believed that Adam and Eve used fig leaves to cover their nakedness after the fall. In Greek mythology, it was believed that the fig was the fruit of the tree under which Zeus, the main god of Greek mythology, was born. In Roman mythology, the fig was the symbol of the goddess Juno, the goddess of marriage and femininity. She was depicted with a fig in her hands, which symbolized her femininity and fertility. The fig can be used as a symbol of fertility, wealth and abundance. It can also be used as a symbol of femininity and motherhood, as figs are associated with mother's milk and the birth of new life. In the culture of a number of peoples, figs can be used as a symbol of wisdom and knowledge, since fig leaves were used as writing paper in antiquity.
Fig (fig, fig tree, common fig tree, fig tree), Ficus carica. Description, illustrations of the plant Fig (fig, fig). Myths, traditions, symbolism
The fruit of a Mediterranean fruit tree, often found in descriptions of events in paradise. The first parents Adam and Eve, having tasted the forbidden fruit, "knew that they were naked, and sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves aprons" (Genesis 3:7), i.e. For the first time, they made their own clothes in the minimum required sizes. Fig fruits and grape clusters in antiquity were considered attributes of the god of drunken intoxication Dionysus, as well as, respectively, the phallic god Priapus, which evokes erotic associations. According to the Gnostic and Islamic traditions, the two taboo (forbidden) trees in the Garden of Eden were the olive (olive) and the fig (fig tree, fig tree). In Christian symbolism, "a fig tree, a withered tree" often appears, denoting supporters of the synagogue (Judaism) or false doctrine who do not recognize the mission of Jesus Christ. In turn, the fruitful fig tree, along with the olive tree and the vine, in the Bible, for example, among the prophets, appear as attributes of a carefree life in the messianic kingdom (Paradise). The baroque poet Hochberg (1675) created a pious maxim with the mention of the fig tree: "The fig tree beckons with its fruit. // Small children sprinkled it all around. // So God's mercy can fully embrace us, // If we let God's grace into our hearts." Fig tree in Buddhism, the bodhi tree is a symbol of insight, because under such a tree in 528 BC. Prince Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) achieved the deepest knowledge of the essence of life as overcoming earthly suffering. Author: Biedermann G.
Garden fig (fig tree, fig tree), Ficus carica L. Botanical description, history of origin, nutritional value, cultivation, use in cooking, medicine, industry
Deciduous tree up to 15 m high, with a spreading crown. The leaves are large, broadly lobed, strongly indented, with thick long petioles. The plant is dioecious; on the male, pear-shaped inedible formations are formed - syconiums, similar to fruits, on the female - edible seedlings, covered with a thin skin, which is easily removed, exposing the delicate pulp. The fruit is a nut located in the seed. Blossoms twice and gives two harvests of seedlings per year. In China, figs are called uhua-guo, which means a fruit without a flower. In fact, plants form flowers, but flowering takes place inside the seed. The homeland of the fig tree is considered the territory of modern Yemen. One of the most ancient crops in the world, the fig tree was known in ancient times. Information about it is found in ancient Greek literature. Figs were brought to Europe by Genoese merchants in the XNUMXth century. Wild Black Sea small-fruited forms of figs have been grown since time immemorial. They can be found in rock crevices, on stone screes. Industrial plantations of figs are located in the subtropics of Georgia, Azerbaijan, in the Crimea and Central Asia. Ripe fruits of figs, or, more precisely, seedlings, depending on the variety, have a different color, but most often they are yellow-green. They are juicy, sweet, sticky, fleshy, with cherry red flesh. Fresh figs are consumed only at the place of growth; they cannot be transported. Varieties of figs differ in the requirements for soil and climatic conditions. So, dried fruit varieties are grown in Central Asia and Azerbaijan, and table varieties - on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. Figs are a heat-loving and unpretentious plant. It begins to bear fruit from three to four years, lives up to 200 years. Differs in high productivity. By the age of 15, 100 kg of fruits are removed from one tree. The fruits ripen in September-October. Seedlings podvyalivayutsya directly on the trees. The collected fruits are usually dried in the sun. Dried figs reach their peak of flavor and aroma only a few months after harvest. Ripe fruit figs are rich in sugars. Moreover, in dried fruits they accumulate three to four times more than in fresh ones. A small amount of essential oil and organic acids is combined with a rich set of vitamins (carotene, vitamins of group B, C), proteins, pectin substances. A lot in the fruits of calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium. Moreover, they contain more iron than apples, and in terms of calcium content they are second only to nuts. The healing properties of figs are known. Its fruits have long been used for diseases of the cardiovascular system, to improve digestion, as a mild laxative and tonic. It has an antipyretic and diaphoretic effect on the body. Due to the large amount of pectin, figs have enveloping, softening and bactericidal properties. The seeds have a laxative effect. Medicinal not only fruits. The essential oil obtained from the leaves of the tree also exhibits bactericidal properties. In the medical industry, psoberan is obtained from fig leaves, which is used in the treatment of vitiligo. Figs are used as food. Dried or dried figs are very useful: in terms of calories, it surpasses even raisins. Unripe figs should not be eaten, as they contain poisonous milky juice, but as soon as cracks appear on the seedlings, the fruits are ready to eat. Figs are used for the production of jam, preserves, marshmallows, sweets, compote, non-standard fruits - vinegar. Authors: Kretsu L.G., Domashenko L.G., Sokolov M.D.
Common fig (fig, fig tree), Ficus carica. Methods of application, origin of the plant, range, botanical description, cultivation
The huge genus Figs, or Figs (Ficus L), belonging to the Mulberry family (Moraceae), unites about 1000 species. In industrial culture, the common fig, fig or fig tree (Ficus carica L.) is widely used. Fresh figs contain (in%): water - 83-85, proteins - 0,7-1,3, carbohydrates - 9,5-14, including sugars - 11,2, fiber - 2,5, organic acids - 0,5, ash - 1,1; minerals (in mg / 100 g): sodium - up to 18, potassium - up to 268, calcium - up to 34, magnesium - up to 20, phosphorus - up to 32; vitamins (in mg/100 g): B-carotene - 0,05, B1 - 0,06, B3 - 0,05, PP - 0,50, C - 2,0; calorie content - 41-56 kcal / 100 g, calorie content of dried fruits - 214 kcal / 100 g. Fruits are consumed fresh and processed. The Latin name is explained by the cultivation of figs in ancient Caria, a province of Asia Minor. Introduced into culture in ancient times in Arabia, from where it was borrowed by Phoenicia, Syria, Egypt and Hellas. Figs were brought to the last country in the XNUMXth century. BC e. Introduced to America at the end of the XNUMXth century. It grows wild in the Mediterranean countries of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Near and Middle East. On an industrial scale, figs are cultivated in Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, USA (California). It is grown in Georgia and Azerbaijan, as well as in the North Caucasus, Central Asia, Crimea, southern Ukraine and Moldova. World fruit production is 1,5-2 million tons annually. Figs - deciduous subtropical tree-like or bushy plant, under favorable conditions with a wide spreading crown, up to 10-12 m high and a trunk up to 75 cm in diameter. The root system is powerful, skeletal roots are densely covered with overgrown roots. Figs are unpretentious, growing on mountain slopes, scree, in rock crevices, on stone walls, where only dust and occasional moisture from rains fall. Powerful, abundantly fruiting trees are found at the exits of springs, in river valleys, that is, in conditions of good water supply. It grows well and bears fruit in areas with a long warm period and a large number of sunny days. The trees are dioecious, drought-resistant, withstand temperature drops in winter to minus 12-15 °C. Some varieties can withstand temperatures as low as -20°C. Plants are easily restored by root shoots or top shoots from dormant buds below freezing points. It is undemanding to soils, grows on sierozem, lime-rich soils of semi-deserts, on acidic red soils, alluvial and heavy clay and slightly saline soils. The best soils for it are fertile medium and light loams with good water supply and deep groundwater standing. Figs have only its characteristic features of flowering, pollination and fruit formation. Flowers are placed in special inflorescences - syconiums. They are usually pear-shaped, with a hole at the top. This hole ends with a tube, the walls of which are lined with staminate flowers. The cavity of the inflorescence is occupied by female flowers. Two forms of inflorescences are formed: caprifiga, where the staminate flowers develop normally and produce a lot of pollen, and the walls of the cavity are lined with short-columnar pistillate flowers; and the fig, where the staminate flowers are reduced, the pistils are long-columnar. Caprifigs function as male inflorescences, while figs function as female inflorescences. The sikonum, or fig, is the swollen hollow axis of the inflorescence, which becomes fleshy and encloses numerous small nutlets in its cavity. During the year, 3 generations of inflorescences develop on figs: profigs, which are mainly caprifigs, develop in early spring; mammoni, which are predominantly figs; besides them, caprifigs also develop, but in a smaller number; mammoni develop in August, mamme - only caprifigs - develop at the end of September. Pollination is done by a small blastophage wasp. Fertilized females of this wasp fly to the profigs in the spring, squeeze through the hole into the ovary and lay their eggs there, after which the wasps die. From the eggs, larvae appear that feed on the ovule, they develop into adult insects - winged females and wingless males. The latter are ahead of the development of females and leave the ovaries; having entered the cavity of the inflorescence, they gnaw holes in other ovaries and release the females. Here the males fertilize the females and die. The females, going outside, are sprinkled with pollen from staminate flowers and fly to other fig trees, where mammoni have developed by this time. Entering the inflorescence, the wasp crawls over the female flowers in search of short-columnar flowers and leaves pollen on them. Not finding short-columnar flowers, the wasp flies out (it is not able to penetrate long columns with its ovipositor), visits other figs and pollinates them. Having found a caprifig, the wasp enters it with difficulty, losing its wings in the process. Here she finds short-columnar pistillate flowers and lays eggs in them, after which she dies. From these eggs, males and females develop in the same rhythm. Fertilized females go flying to lay eggs in the third, autumn generation of inflorescence - mamma. In mamma, the larvae overwinter on a tree or on the ground in fallen fruits. In the spring, fertilized females fly to the pros. Such is the complex pollination cycle of figs. The best yield of figs comes from mammoni, but the pros also give a small yield; mamma, consisting of only small caprifigs, do not give edible seedlings. Consequently, the yield of a number of fig varieties depends entirely on the work of the blastophage wasp. When planting these varieties, for every 100 trees that produce edible fruits, it is necessary to plant 5-6 pollinating trees, caprifigs with blastophage. The population has long used artificial "caprification" by stringing caprifigs on a raffia washcloth or on a thread and hanging them among the branches. Caprifigs can be stored at a low temperature for a long time. Most cultivars develop ripe seedlings without pollination and fertilization - parthenocarpic.
Depending on the characteristics of flowering and fruit formation, fig varieties are divided into 4 groups:
The main varieties in European and Asian countries include the following: Smyrna, San Pedro black, San Pedro white, Cordergia, Magnolia, Braunschweig, Celesta, Brown Turkish. Figs are propagated by seeds, cuttings, layering and root shoots, but the best way is by cuttings from annual shoots. Depending on the area of growth, trees are formed in a standard or bush form. Standard culture is typical for warm regions where there is no danger of frost damage. In the foothill and steppe regions with a more severe climate, the bushes are bent down and covered with earth for the winter. It enters fruiting on the 2-3rd year after planting, the life expectancy of plants is from 30 to 60 years, in some cases - 150-200 and even over 300 years. During the period of full fruiting, the yield reaches 10-20 t/ha. The fruits are harvested by hand at full consumer maturity. The main processing methods are solar drying, making compotes, jams, marmalades and fruit freezing. Fresh fruits are stored at a temperature of 1 ° C for no more than 2-3 weeks. Dried fruits are stored for a long time and transported to any distance. Authors: Baranov V.D., Ustimenko G.V.
Common fig (fig tree, fig tree). The history of growing a plant, economic importance, cultivation, use in cooking
Fruiting dioecious deciduous tree 12-15 m high of the mulberry family. The birthplace of figs is Karika in Asia Minor: the best varieties in the world are created here. It grows wild in India, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and Pakistan. It is successfully grown in the mountainous regions of Turkmenistan, in the Caucasus, in the Crimea. In culture, it is widely distributed in many subtropical countries. Known to mankind since ancient times. Cultivated since time immemorial for the sake of delicious, very sweet fruits, its culture in Mesopotamia has been known for over 4 thousand years. In ancient Egypt, figs were one of the main crops. It is bred in the south of Crimea, in the Caucasus, in Central Asia. The fig fruit is a small achene inside a fleshy pear-shaped receptacle on short stalks. Infructescence - a strongly overgrown receptacle weighing 32-77 g. Fresh infructescences contain a lot of sugars (12-24% - mainly glucose and fructose), organic acids (0,1-0,4% - mainly citric, malic), significant amounts of pectin substances (0,5-4,2%), vitamins C, B1, B2, carotene, carotenoids, minerals (salts of potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, copper), ficin enzymes and other proteases. Dried fruits are high in calories - they contain 50-77% sugars. All parts of the plant contain a milky sap that flows out when injured. It is distinguished by significant proteolytic activity and milk-clotting properties. The enzyme of milky juice - ficin - is used in the production of cheeses, to preserve and improve the structure of meat products. The flavonol rutin (0,1%), furocoumarins (0,2-0,5%) psoralen and bergapten, fatty acids, essential oil were found in fig leaves; in the roots - furocoumarins related to psoralen and bergapten. Leaf juice has a softening and anti-inflammatory effect, it is recommended for dry and acne-prone skin. Psoralen and the essential oil isolated from the leaves have a fungicidal and bactericidal effect. Furocoumarins have a photosensitizing effect. The possibility of their use for the treatment of vitiligo, similar to similar furocoumarins from psoralea and parsnip, is being investigated. Fig fruits are eaten both fresh and dried and dried. Dried fruits are a very sweet, healthy dietary product. Figs are used to make jam, marshmallow, canned food, sweets, compotes, gingerbread, coffee and wine. Low grades go to vinegar. Dried fruits are high in calories and contain 50-77% sugars. The milky juice enzyme ficin is used in the production of cheeses to ferment milk. Figs are useful in diseases of the cardiovascular system, in thrombosis and as a hematopoietic agent. It is also recommended to be eaten to improve digestion, as a mild laxative, diaphoretic and diuretic. Japanese scientists have proposed an antitumor drug from figs. There is information about the antihelminthic effect of the leaves of the plant (they are recommended to be used for this purpose in conjunction with tansy grass).
Figs have long been very popular in folk medicine. A decoction of fruits in milk was used for dry cough, whooping cough, swelling of the vocal cords. In Armenian folk medicine, a decoction of dried leaves of the plant was mainly used as an antitussive, milky juice - as a wound healing and for removing acne, and seeds - as a laxative. In various regions, in folk medicine, it was used as an astringent (decoction of dried leaves and roots), for cystitis, nephrolithiasis, as an emollient and anti-inflammatory agent for flux, boils, sore throat (boiled fruits or decoction). Decoctions and jam from figs folk medicine; recommended for gastritis, constipation. Interesting work on testing the antitumor activity of fig latex juice. Latex inhibited the growth of subcutaneous sarcoma of white rats. The absence of tumor growth or their complete reverse development was observed in 50% of the treated animals, i.e., approximately 3 times more often than in the control. The antitumor activity of latex is significantly increased with the simultaneous use of X-ray irradiation. Possibly chemicals; in the juice sensitize tumor cells to the reaction to radiation. The study of the mechanism of the carcinostatic action of figs was studied by a number of authors who isolated five fractions from the homogenate of the fruits of this plant, of which only one showed antitumor activity. A detailed study of this fraction by gas mass spectrometry showed its identity to benzaldehyde. Benzaldehyde isolated from figs at a dose of 100 mg/kg per day inhibits the growth of adenocarcinoma in mice by 40%, and at a dose of 10 mg/kg per day, the growth of solid Ehrlich cancer by 56%. In addition, benzaldehyde from figs dramatically stimulated the permeability of bacterial cell membranes. The latter indicates the expediency of studying the effect of fig benzaldehyde on the permeability of tumor cell membranes. Figs and its preparations are contraindicated in diabetes mellitus and in acute inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Authors: Dudnichenko L.G., Krivenko V.V.
Fig (fig, fig tree, common fig tree, fig tree), Ficus carica. Botanical description of the plant, area, methods of application, cultivation
The plant received the scientific species name carica for the area that is considered the birthplace of figs - this is the mountainous region of ancient Caria, a province in Asia Minor. The name "ficus" came to the Russian language in the XNUMXth century and has already been somewhat changed - "fig", hence - "fig tree". There were other names for this plant in Rus' - fig tree, fig, wine berry, Smyrna berry. The name "blue fig" may refer to a completely different plant that grows in Australia and has nothing to do with the real fig. Subtropical deciduous tree with light grey, smooth bark. The leaves are large, alternate, 3-5-7-palate-lobed or separate, hard, with deciduous stipules. Shortened generative shoots develop in the axils of the leaves, bearing inflorescences of two types - caprifigs and figs (syconium). They develop on different trees, characterized by the fact that the axis grows into a spherical-oval formation with a hole at the top and a cavity inside, where small nondescript dioecious flowers are located. Caprifigs are smaller inflorescences containing male flowers. Figs - female gallic flowers with short columns - large inflorescences in which male flowers are reduced, and female flowers have long columns, and after fertilization form one-seeded fruits - nuts. Pollination in figs has a unique feature. It occurs with the help of small black os-blastophages (with the exception of artificially bred parthenocarpic varieties), which transfer pollen from male trees to female ones. The blastophage wasps themselves cannot breed without figs. A female blastophage wasp, fertilized by a wingless male inside a male fig inflorescence, crawls out through a hole in the top of the male inflorescence. At the same time, it receives pollen from male flowers on its body. In search of male inflorescences, some females get inside the female inflorescences. The pollen brought by them falls on the stigma of the pistils, due to which the pollination of flowers occurs. Figs (female flowers) develop into juicy, sweet, pear-shaped buds with seeds inside. They are covered with thin skin with small hairs. At the top there is a hole - an eye covered with scales. Fig fruit are yellow to black-blue in color, depending on the variety. Yellow-green fruits are more common. The fruits contain many very small seeds, the fruits are sugary or moderately sweet in taste. Unripe fruits contain caustic milky juice, therefore they are inedible. Figs are widely distributed in the Mediterranean countries, in Georgia, in the mountains of Armenia, on the Absheron Peninsula, in the central regions of Azerbaijan, on the southern coast of Crimea, in the Carpathians, on the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory and in Abkhazia. It grows in a cultivated landscape - on plantations and in gardens, but often the plant runs wild and can be found in natural forests, on the outskirts of settlements, along roadsides, in landfills, in overgrown fields and in other places.
Fresh figs contain up to 1,3% proteins, 11,2% sugars, and only 0,5% acids. In dried figs, the proportion of protein increases to 3-6%, sugar - up to 40-50%, which gives them a deep sweet taste and a feeling of satiety (the calorie content of dried fruits is 214 kcal per 100 g). They also contain vitamins (β-carotene, B1, B3, PP, C) and minerals (sodium - 18 mg per 100 g, potassium - 268, calcium - up to 34, magnesium - up to 20, phosphorus - up to 32). There is so much potassium that, in terms of its content, figs are second only to nuts. Fig leaves contain coumarins (substances that increase the body's sensitivity to solar radiation), the main ones being psoralen and bergapten. Figs are one of the world's most common food plants. Its fruits are consumed fresh, dried and canned. Jam and jam are made from fresh fruits. For drying, light varieties with golden skin and white flesh are used, about 5 cm in diameter. Seedlings are dried for 3-4 days under the sun. It is believed that the smaller the fruit, the tastier the figs. If there are more than 900 seeds in each fruit, this is a very good, tender fig. If less than 500 - very mediocre. There is also a seedless variety that does not need pollination with the help of wasps, but its seedlings are not so tasty and juicy. Since ancient times, figs have been used in medicine. It was used as a cough remedy, for throat diseases, for which the seedlings were brewed with boiling water or hot milk. The pulp of the fruit has a good diaphoretic and antipyretic effect. In addition, there is more iron in figs than in apples, so it is recommended for patients suffering from iron deficiency anemia. Figs are highly nutritious, reduce fever and quench thirst. Figs are useful for heart palpitations, bronchial asthma, coughs, chest pains, coarsening of the pleura; eating it with almonds helps with strong weight loss. Dried figs have a laxative effect. Fig syrup is a tonic for children: it increases their appetite and improves digestion. Fig syrup helps with muscular rheumatism, skin diseases, kidney and bladder stones, an increase in liver volume and pain (with a cold of the female genital organs). Fig fruits are part of the drug "Kafiol".
Fig leaves (Folium Ficusi caricae) are harvested after fruiting in September-October and dried. From raw materials, the drug "Psoberan" is obtained, which is used to treat patchy baldness and vitiligo. Due to the fact that fig seedlings are very sweet and high-calorie, they should not be consumed by patients with diabetes mellitus. Since they contain a lot of oxalic acid, you should not take them for gout. If there are any inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract in the acute phase, they should also be abandoned. Figs are one of the oldest cultivated plants, presumably the oldest. In culture, figs were first grown in Arabia, from where they were borrowed by Phoenicia, Syria and Egypt. In the XIII century BC. e. played an important role in the agriculture of the kingdom of Pylos. He came to America only at the end of the XNUMXth century. Nowadays, figs are grown in Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Carpathians and the Crimea in open ground. The harvest of figs in culture is plentiful - up to 20 tons per hectare. Figs are unpretentious: they can grow on poor lands, scree, rocks, stone walls. However, the most powerful trees are found in river valleys, in conditions of good water supply. Figs begin to bear fruit in the second or third year, live up to 30-60, and in some cases up to 300 years. In some places, caprification is carried out for artificial pollination of fig tree flowers. In the middle and northern regions of Europe, figs are grown in rooms. It has large lobed beautiful leaves that fall in the winter. In room culture, it is able to produce fruits that often ripen in late summer or autumn, sometimes in spring. Figs are propagated by winter (without leaves) and summer (green) cuttings. Winter cuttings are cut from one-two-year-old shoots and planted in early spring, before bud break, in light sandy loam soil. Green cuttings are planted in late spring - early summer in the sand and kept until rooting in a humid environment under a glass or other glass cover. Both those cuttings in a warm place root easily. Rooted cuttings are planted in pots. In summer, a fig tree is kept on bright windowsills with abundant watering, in winter - in a cool place with very moderate watering, so long as the earth does not dry out at all. Until the age of three, annually in the spring, before the start of growth, they are transplanted into soddy-humus soil. Adult plants are transplanted after two or three years into a wide dish, into a heavier soil.
Figs and wasps. Interesting plant facts
One English traveler who visited the countries of the Middle East in Pushkin's time was extremely puzzled when he came to the Turkish city of Smyrna. The inhabitants greeted the traveler hospitably, but no matter what conversation he started with them, they invariably reduced him to figs - figs. They seemed to think of nothing else but their beloved tree. However, the Turks had very good reasons for their enthusiasm. The Smyrna fig was famous all over the world. He is valued even now. Many countries buy Smyrna figs from Turkey. We, too. Growing a good crop of figs is not at all an easy task. This is a whole science. The fig fruit itself is not a fruit, but an overgrown stalk. The fruits inside, those very small grains that crunch on the teeth. Therefore, botanists called all this tasty plant a special word - "syconium". These siconias, and they are edible and inedible, still cause confusion in the minds of gardeners and sometimes lead them to despair. At one time, Americans wished to have Smyrna figs in their garden. Very soon, practical farmers got hold of the coveted treasure. They planted and waited for the harvest. Alas, there were no fruits. The ones that started up fell to the ground. Farmers gathered for a rally. They called in the biologist Eisen, the one who brought the tree from Turkey to America. Eisen admitted that he had made a mistake by not capturing the fig pollinator, the blastophage wasp, from Turkey. We need to go after her immediately. - For a wasp? the farmers shouted. - And they raised such a whistle that the scientist had to get out of the podium. There were also botanists who did not believe Eisen. However, time proved him right, and now the Smyrna fig lives in the United States along with its assistant, the wasp. Farmers, of course, had to learn a lot, because caring for a wasp. So let's start with spring. They are laid in the fall. And in the fall, the blastophage climbs inside the syconium and lays eggs in flowers. By March, young wasps are born and leave winter quarters. They don't have pollen. They are for winter only. And they are called mamme. Young wasps should find siconia with pollen - pros. Profits ripen in summer. Wasps climb inside and lay a portion of eggs. When the second generation is born, mature pollen is ready at the exit from the syconium. The wasps push their way to the exit and are so loaded with yellow pollen that they cannot even fly. They clean themselves with their paws for a long time, scraping off the excess load, as house flies do. And now you can fly to female trees and pollinate them, which they do. Entering the syconium of a true fig, the wasp makes its way through the flowers in the hope of laying eggs for the next generation. Alas, the flowers here are different and the wasp cannot fulfill its duty. But while he walks and wanders, he will leave pollen. The task of nature is done. Good for figs and for people. For a wasp - trouble. Remains unhappy without procreation. However, nature took care that the insect survived. And now the third in a row, the last, generation of goat figs appears on the male trees. This time at the end of summer. It's called mammoni. Wasps flying from pros visit mammoni, where they find exactly those flowers where they can lay their eggs. The circle closes. By autumn, the next, third generation of wasps will fly out of mammoni along the route: mammoni - mamme. Then, next year, there will be pros again, mammoni again, and so on. Such complex mechanics. But that's not all the farmer needs to know. The wasp is not the only insect that dreams of visiting a cozy syconium. Other, extraneous and completely unnecessary creatures make their way through the entrance. And more often than others - the favorite of geneticists is the Drosophila fruit fly. It would be half the trouble if Drosophila only brought out their larvae there. She brings along with her the beginnings of yeast fungi. And the fruits turn sour. Have to throw them away. Now they are trying to develop varieties with a narrower entrance to the fruit so that Drosophila does not crawl through. But for now, it's still a dream. However, the wasp itself can also infect. For example, the parasitic fungus Fusarium. And the juicy fruit will begin to rot. Observing quarantine, gardeners have to breed figs in one place, and caprifigs in another. Sometimes for miles! As soon as the first crop of caprifigs - mamme ripens in the spring, they are cut, disinfected from all evil spirits and stored until the pros appear. And with pros fuss even more. Profiles don't cut. And no one knows whether wasps settled there or not. Maybe they did not like the summer residence, and the farmer would sell such an empty syconium to his brother who breeds figs. He will hang profi among the fig trees and get no harvest. With a curse, he rushes to the seller: deception! And there is no deception, because the seller cannot guess the desires of the blastophagus. Here is the way out. To create varieties in which syconia would fall if the wasp did not settle in them. But there are still few such varieties. While all these mechanics were not known, Smyrna figs remained a mystery with seven seals. Now there are no secrets for a long time, although there are a lot of unresolved problems. But the blastophage has long been established across the ocean, and American farmers no longer boo biologists. Breeders remade the Smyrna fig in their own way. The best variety - Sari-Lop - they adapted to the New World conditions. The name was left. And then the unexpected happened. Americans were suspicious of the new variety, because they were used to hearing the word "Smyrna" in the name. A competition was urgently announced for the best name, where the sound of the Turkish city would be preserved and at the same time the work of breeders from California would be reflected. An award of $2500 was announced. The reward came in handy. The desired name soon appeared. It was combined: Kalimirna. A piece from California and the rest from Smyrna. The variety immediately began to snap up. Now it occupies half of the gardens in the United States where figs are grown. However, farmers do not like unnecessary troubles with caprifigs and blastophages. And here a new problem arises: is it possible to do without a burdensome wasp? Can. Not only is it possible, but they already do. There are many varieties that produce fruit without any pollination. There are even more of them than varieties of Smyrna figs. A person who is little familiar with figs joyfully seizes on these varieties and chuckles at those who work hard on arranging apartment amenities for the blastophage wasp. But, alas, for his work he receives a lower wage in the market. The secret here is that without a wasp, without pollination, the fruits are deprived of several necessary qualities that the consumer appreciates. There will be no nut-seeds in the fruits, namely, they give the smell of figs a special pleasant shade. Connoisseurs have repeatedly tried to describe this shade, but they did not succeed. The taste is also not the same. Something is missing. We tried to understand what is missing. Not understood. You have to try it yourself. The buyer, however, is not only interested in taste and aroma. Give him more and beautiful pulp. To be blood crimson or fiery strawberry. There is an excellent Adriatic variety that does not need pollination. Its figs are tasty, but their flesh becomes blood-red only when ... pollinated! Another variety - Dottoto - also does without the help of a wasp. But if you want to have bright strawberry flesh, take the trouble to invite a wasp to help. Therefore, now they are trying to develop new varieties with the expectation of a wasp. Although it is troublesome, it is tasty and beautiful! But here another problem arises, which connoisseurs consider one of the four most important. We are talking about the fact that many fig lovers who ate a lot of sugar and sweets and lost their teeth now wear false dentures. As soon as such a person chews the divine Smyrna fig, a few nuts will fall under the prosthesis. The man freezes from unbearable pain. He can’t even say a word and stands with his mouth open, unable to move his jaw. It turns out boring. Therefore, the sweet tooth is dying to get figs without seeds. But at the same time, they do not want to lose all the nuances of smell, color and taste.
Breeders are still unsuccessfully racking their brains: how to combine seedlessness and quality? How to do without blastophaga and preserve the glory of the Smyrna miracle? Observing the truth, it must be said that figs must be able not only to grow, but also to dry. They keep fresh for only a few days. And this is not an easy task either. At the beginning of the century, one of the admirers of figs, the Caucasian gardener N. Dranopulo, complained to the journal "Garden and Garden": "I make various experiments, but I get not dried figs, but something like ... openings!" I don’t know what the magazine answered the gardener, but Dranopulo decided to find out the truth, the secret of the Smyrna figs himself, and went to their homeland, to the valley of the Meander River near the city of Izmir. Entering the garden, our traveler was extremely surprised. Mature figs hung from the branches and were already withered so that they were almost fit to be put in a box for shipping. When they fell to the ground, they did not flatten out, like Dranopulo's, but retained their shape, as if they were made of the best rubber. They were saved by the skin, moderately thick and at the same time elastic. There were no such figs in the Caucasus at that time. This was the famous Sari Lop. Just before being sent, the packers lightly squeezed the dried figs with their fingers, and from this they acquired a square shape, resembling cubes of Turkish delight, so beloved in the East. And then the product was simply called lokum. The modern world, being carried away by sweets, sometimes forgets that in the distant past these sweets were used for other purposes. At least figs. The ancient Egyptians revered figs more than other fruits. However, not so much for sweetness, but as a medicine. Thinking about their health, they came to the conclusion that it was all about digestion. And if so, they tried to ensure that food quickly passed through the intestines. And she didn't stay there for long. From this all diseases. They began to look for a product that would fulfill the role of a pusher. And they found him. This is a fig. Since then, there has been a rule in Egypt: not a day without a fig! Even the dead were supplied with a supply of motor provisions. They put a full basket of figs in the grave: maybe it will come in handy in the next world. So: the ideal fig plant? Not certainly in that way. Pickers and packers of figs suddenly develop a skin disease called dermatitis. True, it passes, but one must be careful with the hairs that cover the fruit. They are the culprits. The tree itself is very afraid of dampness and colds. When N. Dranopulo, already known to the reader, arrived on the banks of the Meander River, he did not find fig gardens on its banks, as he expected. "The fig garden near the river does not give a penny," the Turks said. "We plant a fig tree on the hills where the groundwater is deep." But even there, on the hills, the fig was not completely safe. Damp, salty air rushed in from the sea, and then the figs on the branches turned sour, or even rotted altogether. But in relation to the soil, perhaps, there is no equal to the fig. It can grow on the poorest. When birds bring his nuts to the rocks or to the ruins of old buildings, he strengthens there too, using a handful of fine earth that has accumulated between the bricks. It even grows better on a wall than on black soil. Here is what the gardener P. Lesnov from Kakheti said. For several years he tried to grow a fig tree in his garden. But the cuttings did not take root. And they dried up quickly. Once he poked a sprout under a concrete fence, knowing that he would die. And what would you think? It was this unfortunate process that took root and did not wither. The answer is simple: there was black earth in the garden, and crumbled concrete, stones and sand under the fence. In the chernozem, the tree just lacked sand and stones. The fate of the fig was not always successful. Especially in the New World. There was a passion for their own, American varieties. Then the fig boom began to subside. The public began to buy again more often imported, Smyrna. And the plantations began to shrink. In addition, they were crowded by suburban new buildings. The trees were sawn for firewood, but even this was of little use, considering the old proverb: "From figs there is little fire and a lot of smoke!" Perhaps the fig plantations would have completely melted, if not for one circumstance. In 1971, the construction of the California Canal was completed and extensive areas were opened for irrigation. But you have to pay for water. And the farmers needed a plant that would pay for the cost of water in the shortest possible time. That plant was a fig. In two or three years, he already begins to bear fruit. And brings money to pay for water. Author: Smirnov A.
Figs. Records
The fruits of figs, of course, are tasty, but the tree is quite ordinary in appearance. The roots of wild figs growing near the Echo Caves in the eastern part of the Transvaal province, which is part of the Republic of South Africa, reach a record value: they go 120 meters deep into the earth. Author: Gol N.
Fig (fig, fig tree, common fig tree, fig tree), Ficus carica. Recipes for use in traditional medicine and cosmetology
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Fig (fig, fig tree, common fig tree, fig tree), Ficus carica. Tips for growing, harvesting and storing
The fig, also known as the fig, fig tree, common fig tree, or fig tree, is a popular fruit and garden plant. Tips for growing, harvesting and storing figs: Cultivation:
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