Fig
One of the earliest cultivated fruit trees
The fig is a very old cultivated plant that originates from the eastern Mediterranean region and Central Asia. It was early on spread to subtropical areas around the Mediterranean. Near the city of Jericho in the lower Jordan Valley, remains of figs that are about 11,000 years old have been found, making the fig one of the earliest cultivated fruit trees.
Dried figs contain large amounts of fruit sugar and very little fat. They have a high content of dietary fibre, provitamin A, and several minerals, including calcium, iron, phosphorus, and potassium. They are traditionally used for fig spreads and as a snack – especially during the Christmas season.
The pollination biology of the fig is both fascinating and complex. What we call a fig is in fact an inflorescence (syconium) with hundreds of small flowers, which are enclosed in a jar-shaped structure. Ordinary insects cannot reach the flowers, and the fig has therefore developed a specialised interaction with fig wasps.
These small wasps crawl into the fig through a small opening at the top. Inside the fig, the female wasp lays her eggs in some of the flowers and at the same time pollinates others with pollen that she has brought from a previous fig. The larvae develop inside the fig and become new wasps, which leave the fig with pollen on their bodies – ready to pollinate new flowers. This is a classic example of mutualism, in which both species benefit from the interaction: the wasp gets a place to lay her eggs, and the fig gets its flowers pollinated.
Facts:
- Greenhouse location: Mediterranean House
- Danish name: Figen
- Latin name: Ficus carica
- Family: Mulberry family / Moraceae
- Natural habitat: the Eastern Mediterranean and Central Asia