Why is the fig called a fig
Article guide: Let's explore the knowledge about why figs are called figs and whether figs have no flowers with the editor!
Talking about the name "fig" is really famous. Many people may not have seen this fruit and think that "fig" is just a metaphor, and there is no such fruit in reality. In fact, figs do exist and they are now sold in supermarkets, and many people have seen the fruit of figs. However, having seen the fruit of figs, you may not necessarily have seen the fig tree itself.
Recently, I bought a fig tree and have always wanted to see for myself if figs really bear fruit without flowering. I've been carefully taking care of it on the balcony, although it's not yet time for the fruit to ripen, I'm still eager to learn about some of the characteristics of fig trees.
In fact, many people haven't seen fig trees because the cultivation area of figs is limited, and their growth requires very strict temperature conditions. However, the cultivation area is also expanding, and now there are basically two cultivation areas in China: one is the coastal cultivation center and the other is the northwest cultivation center. So, there should be quite a few people who recognize fig trees.
As a fruit tree that is particularly similar to grapes and persimmons in terms of fruiting habits, fig trees have lactiferous tubes that can secrete white latex. The leaves are single, alternate, with long petioles, large, rough on the surface, dark green, and often 3-7 lobed. There is nothing special about the fig tree, the most magical part should be its flowering habit. This magical flowering habit is the reason why it is called a fig.
Why is the fig called a fig
Figs do not really have no flowers; they do have flowers and there are different types of flowers. Some have only female flowers, while others have female, male, and short-styled female flowers suitable for pollination by fig wasps, known as galls. The edible part is mainly the aggregate fruit formed by the enlargement of the floral receptacle, with individual flowers and the resulting achenes embedded in the fleshy receptacle. Since the appearance only shows fruit and no flowers, it is called a "fig."
Therefore, it can be said that figs do not have no flowers; it's just that this flower is a "hidden flower." The inflorescence is fleshy, swollen, and concave into a hollow spherical shape, with many sessile unisexual flowers on the concave inner wall, which is called a "hidden inflorescence" in botany, thus forming the unique receptacle of the fig tree. If we cut open a fig, we can see small flowers of different shapes. Don't be fooled by the "hidden flower," as it actually goes through pollination by a type of insect called the fig wasp. This insect enters the fig from a small hole at the top and pollinates it internally, and this insect is also domesticated by figs in evolution to pollinate them. Therefore, figs are also known as the "animal trainer" in the plant kingdom.
As a fruit tree, figs have a strong growth habit and multiple growth habits, with new shoots and suckers of young trees growing up to 2 meters in the first year. Figs have weak germination and branching abilities, with obvious growth of the main branches, and there are many latent buds on them, which can live for decades. Moreover, the fruit of figs is a high-nutrition, high-medicinal fruit with the magical effect of enhancing human immunity and inhibiting the development of four types of cancer cells. Therefore, if we cultivate a fig tree, we can not only enjoy the beautiful fruit but also eat the miraculous fresh fruit, which is really a beautiful thing. And if it is cultivated on a large scale as a fruit tree, it is also very good. Its main cultivation characteristics are as follows: A - Early production, fast returns, and long economic life. Figs are annual seedlings that can bear fruit in the year of transplanting, and can yield a considerable amount in the second year, and can form an orchard in 3 years, entering the full fruiting period.