67. Common Fig

Location: Northeastern facing side of Chemistry Library on the south side of the doors.

Historical Background: This tree is generally far more suited to more tropical climates. Young figs generally need help withstanding temperatures less than 20-29 degrees or so, and even most mature trees will die without protection in zones where the temperature reaches below 10 degrees. Fortunately the relatively moderate Seattle climate allows this specimen to continue thriving here. Known to be invasive in warmer parts of the western United States, the home range of this species is now difficult to determine due to at least 4000 years of human cultivation. They are still cultivated around the world today, mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. The trees can live between 50 and 75 years, and while there are both male and female trees fertilization is not always required to produce fruit. Pollination is undertaken by a species of fig wasp which lives in a vital symbiotic mutualistic relationship with the species.

Non-native

Native Range: Southern Europe and southwestern Asia, generally hardy only in warmer climates (this tree seems to have trouble producing ripe fruit, but that may also be due to campus wildlife).

Identifying Features: The common fig has very large leaves, 9” (20cm) across, usually deeply lobed but sometimes without and cordate (heart shaped). They are generally fairly small with low apical control, spreading and achieving a height of only about 26’ (8m). The fruit is pear shaped and stiff when unripe, appearing in singles or clusters from the stem itself and ripening to a purple black color. Ripe fruit is soft to the touch. The interior of this edible fruit contains dozens of seeds enclosed in a tasty flesh and circled around some central point. The bark is smooth and gray with lateral streak patterns. 

Identifying Features In Depth:

1. Form: A squat tree with low apical control and broad spreading branches growing thickly together. Generally achieves heights of no more than 26’ (8m). Foliage is thick and deciduous.

2. Leaves: Large and generally lobed (though sometimes cordate) with palmate venation and shiny white hairs on the underside of the veins. Leaves are thick and leathery, yet are deciduous, and can reach sizes of 9” (20cm) across.

3. Bark: Bark is smooth and gray, with speckled patterning and few fissures. Shoots are very stout and glabrous (smooth without hairs), though often ridged. Buds are conic and the sap is milky in color.

4. Reproductive Bodies: The fruit of this tree is the fig, growing from 2 to 3.25” (5-8cm) in length. The fruit is pear shaped attached via a thick stem and is fairly hard when unripe. As the fruit ripens it changes from a light green to a purple-blackish color and the skin softens. The seeds are arranged in an oval formation around a central point and surrounded by an edible flesh.