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What Are Figs?

Fig trees (or Ficus carica) are native to the Mediterranean region and were one of the first plants to be cultivated.

Figs are members of the mulberry family, which, contrary to the nursery rhyme, is mostly populated by trees, not bushes to “go ‘round and ‘round.” (Other family members include the banyan, breadfruit, jackfruit, and Osage orange.)

A fig fruit (which, again, is not really a fruit) is known as a syconium. According to the Ecological Society of America, “a fig is not actually a fruit; it is an inflorescence — a cluster of many flowers and seeds contained inside a bulbous stem.” And as we’ll see, it’s that structure that makes its pollination so darn interesting.

Because the fig flower is arranged so unusually, the seeds — which are actually the ovaries of the fig — can’t be pollinated by ordinary flying insects like bees, moths, and butterflies. Instead, it requires a pollinator with the skills of a safecracker who can operate in dark, confined quarters (more on that later).

(Taken from the Food Revolution Network)

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