Unlike many well-known fruit trees, fig trees do not form any visible flowers. The numerous small inflorescences are located in spherical shoots three to five centimeters in size and are a species-specific feature of the fig.

Well-protected inflorescences

This flower shape arises because the inflorescence axis of the fig grows upwards in a ring shape. The many small individual flowers thrive on the inside of this axis cup. A small opening is left at the top of the inflorescence. This is loosely closed by bracts. When the fig ripens, the leaves recede and almost completely close the fruit.

If you open a ripe fig, you will see numerous tiny nuts surrounded by the tasty flesh. Each seed is an independent stone fruit that has formed from one of the small flowers.

Wasp and fig - an inseparable symbiosis

The real fig is monoecious and has both male and female flowers. These figs are fertilized by the two to three millimeter large fig gall wasp. The animal lays its eggs in the male ovary of the flowers and lives there during the larval stage. When hatching, the female gall wasps take the pollen with them. They carry it to the female infructescence of the fig tree in search of a suitable place to lay eggs.

Due to the complicated flower biology of the fig, the wasp can only lay its eggs in the male flowers. The aromatic fruits develop from the fertilized female flowers.

Figs that do not rely on pollination

Since the fig gall wasp is only native to the south of the Alps, figs can only be cultivated in our latitudes since the offspring of fig trees that bear fruit without cross-pollination was successful. Depending on the variety and location, the flowers form up to three times a year on the one-year-old wood.

So you can distinguish the figs into three main types:

  • Smyrna Type: The figs ripen after being fertilized by the wasp
  • Adriatic type: fruits develop without fertilization. Since the yields are higher, this fig is now the preferred crop.
  • San Pedro Type: One generation of flowers forms fruit without pollination while the second generation of flowers forms fruit with pollination.

tips and tricks

Wild forms of the fig from the Mediterranean region do not produce fruit in our latitudes. Therefore, refrain from digging up a fig tree as a souvenir while on vacation. This will save you the disappointment of cultivating a fig that will never bear fruit.

Category:

Indoor plants