Fig

(botany) Ficus carica. A deciduous tree of the family Moraceae cultivated for its edible fruit, which is a syconium, consisting of a fleshy hollow receptacle lined with pistillate flowers.

A species of deciduous tree, Ficus caria, of the mulberry family (Moracaeae). Leaves are characteristically palmate, with 3 to 7 lobes. A milky latex containing the protein-digesting enyzme ficin is produced. It is of southwest Asian origin and is now cultivated in the subtropical regions of the world for its edible fruit, especially in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the United States.

The fig is a multiple or collective fruit that develops from a fleshy compound inflorescence in the form of a hollow structure (syconium) with an apical canal or pore (ostiole) and numerous tiny unisexual flowers lining the inner wall. The flowers are long-style pistillate (female); short-style pistillate (female); and staminate (male). Two forms of trees characterize F. carica: fig and caprifig. The fig bears long-style pistillate flowers exclusively and produces the edible figs of commerce. The caprifig bears short-style pistillate flowers and staminate flowers which are clustered around the inner opening of the ostiole. Caprifigs are the source of pollen for certain cultivars of figs whose flowers must be pollinated to set a crop of fruit. See also Flower; Fruit.

Figs that are to be eaten or marketed fresh, canned, candied, pickled, or made into jam or preserve usually are picked from the trees by hand. The bulk of the world's fig crop either is eaten dry or is marketed as dried figs or as fig paste, which is used for making fig bars and other bakery products. Figs to be used in these ways usually are allowed to dry on the trees and drop to the ground for harvesting either by hand or by machinery. See also Fruit, tree.