Domestication of Ficus carica

Last updated July 29, 2024

Ficus carica , known as the common fig, is one of the earliest plants to have ever undergone domestication. Ficuscarica played many important roles in history and has become a symbol in many different cultures and religions.

Origins of cultivation and domestication

The origin of the common fig is debated.^[1] Some believe it to be indigenous to Western Asia and then spread by human activity throughout the Mediterranean.^[2] Despite uncertainty about its geographic origins, most archaeobotanists agree that the domestication of the fig tree occurred around 6500 years ago in the Near East.^[1] Scholars agree that the domestication of the fig tree came long before the domestication of other fruit crops like grapes, olives, and dates.^[1]

Researchers have found significant evidence of fig cultivation at many different late Neolithic and Neolithic sites^[1] along with Bronze Age, Assyrian, and Egyptian sites.^[3] But evidence for the first cultivation of figs has been found in the Lower Jordan Valley in an early Neolithic village known as Gilgal 1.^[4] This evidence dates back to approximately 10,000 BCE and suggests that the widespread cultivation of figs pre-dated the domestication of cereal crops by almost one thousand years.^[1]

Ficus carica specimens made ideal candidates for domestication because they are one of the most easily proliferated of all fruit trees. By simply planting a seed, or by cutting off either a limb of the fig tree or a part the fruit itself may result in an entirely new individual tree.^[5] The ability to produce many more plants in such a straightforward manner may have appealed to the early consumers of figs, as would the fruit's ability to withstand harsh, varying temperatures.^[6] Along with their rigidity, Ficus carica trees produce 3 crops throughout the year,^[5] so the yield from these plants would be significantly worth the effort put into growing them. Figs also contain a large amount of sugar.^[3] Perhaps the sweetness of these fruits also played a role in their domestication, as it would have made them more desirable to the human palate.^[7]

During the domestication of fig trees, humans compromised the characteristics of the fruit and promoted evolutionary divergence from the wild ancestor of the plant. Intuitively, those growing the figs chose to let the plants with the most desirable characteristics reproduce. In this case, plants were selected towards an increase in the size of the overall fruit.^[3] Figs with various different flesh colors were also chosen so that there are now white-, amber-, red-, and purple-colored figs.^[3] The plants that produced the sweetest fruit were also selected, increasing the sugar content of the domesticated fig versus the wild fig.^[3] Those plants that produced fruits that did not split during maturation and harvest were considered ideal because they produced a higher, usable, crop yield with more diverse uses, being less fragile and easier to handle.^[3]

Smyrna figs

Smyrna figs need to be pollinated by a fig wasp, in contrast to more domesticated forms of Ficus carica such as 'Brown Turkey', which can form figs without pollination (parthenogenetically).

Figs and fig wasps have had a symbiotic relationship throughout history.^[8] The fig wasps need the figs in order to reproduce, while the figs rely on the wasps to aid them in their pollination.^[9] In wilder forms of the plant, without pollination the young developing fig will fall off of the tree without ripening. To secure their crop, fig farmers around the Mediterranean help in the caprification (the process of fig pollination).^[8] This process is done by buying male figs from different regions that are already filled with fig wasps. They then string these figs together and hang them in their trees.^[8] When the fig wasps emerge, they pollinate the figs and allow them to mature. In this way, figs are reliant on human activities, which is representative of their domestication. Without human interference, they would not likely reach maturity.^[8]

In the years prior to the 1900s, a problem arose for those who grew Smyrna figs outside of the Mediterranean. Fig wasps were only found in a very small portion of the world and there was no other known way to pollinate figs.^[8] In artificial caprification,^[8] the maturation of the figs is completely reliant on humans; fig wasps are entirely absent. Male figs are broken open, releasing their pollen. Toothpicks dusted with this pollen is then poked them into female figs, thus artificially pollinating them and allowing them to reach maturity.^[8] This process of artificial caprification was vital to the culture of figs in California until fig wasps were eventually imported into the state from Turkey. In this case, without the close interaction with humans, these figs would have never succeeded in this part of the world.^[8]

Historical significance

Fig trees and fig fruits have many different historical and cultural references. In art, fig leaves have been used to cover the sexual characteristics of muse, forming a representation of modesty and vulnerability. There are also many references to figs within the Bible. One example being, when Adam and Eve dress themselves with fig leaves after eating the forbidden fruit. Perhaps this suggesting that the leaves serve as some form of protection. In another section of the Bible Jesus curses a fig tree because he is in a bad mood. They are also present in different aspects of Greek mythology. They are, for example, known as the sacred tree to the god Dionysus, god of wine and fertility. They appear within a portion of the Qur'an that is titled "The Fig" in Arabic. It can also be found in another section of the Qur'an, in which the fig is referred to as "a fruit that descended from paradise". In Rome, figs were thought to represent femininity, due to the appearance of the fleshy inside of the fruit. In this society, figs were meant as a way of presenting weakness. In the sense, they appeared in a much more negative light than in other cultural contexts.

Dispersal

As time went on, figs were spread from their indigenous region of Western Asia, and their comfortable home in the Mediterranean, throughout many other places around the world (of course, despite their increasing ability to grow in many different regions, the Mediterranean still remains the ideal location for the raising of figs).^[6] They migrated into Afghanistan and expanded to southern Germany and the Canary Islands.^[2] They made their way to England and then China, and eventually to Japan, South Africa, India, Australia, the United States (California to be more specific), and of course many other places around the globe.^[2] Figs soon found themselves woven into the economy of many different countries. The production, import, and export of figs is vital in some regions. For example, in 2010, Turkey was the number one exporter and producer of figs in the world, producing around 24% of the world's supply and exporting around 254, 838 metric tons.^[2] Egypt was the second largest producer, producing around 184,972 metric tons.^[2] Austria trailed Turkey as the second largest exporter, exporting somewhere near 6,131 metric tons.^[2] In 2009, France, Austria, and Germany were the top 3 importers of figs, with Canada trailing as number 4.^[2] The demand for figs has remained steady for many years and it looks as though it will stay that way for a while, or perhaps even increase, which would of course be good news for the countries that lead in the fig trade.^[6]

Modern uses

There are many different ways that people continue to consume fig fruits today. The most common forms of consumption are either dried, sliced, and then eaten, or dried and then made into a sticky paste which can then be used in a variety of different products.^[6] This is mostly because it is extremely hard to keep fresh figs, as they spoil within a very short amount of time. So, more often than not, if figs are to be consumed fresh then they must be eaten in the place which they are grown because they are unable to make the journey of exportation.^[6] It is for this reason that, for most of their history, around 95% of all the figs produced in the world were destined to be dried.^[6] However, despite the difficulties that they pose, the demand for fresh figs has recently greatly increased. From 2002 to 2006, the demand for fresh figs increased four-fold.^[2] Besides dried or fresh, figs are also sometimes canned and used in pastries and, although it is not commonly known, they can even be fermented and distilled into alcohol.^[3] It many places in the world, it is common to grind up the figs that either do not meet standards, or rot before they can be consumed, in order to make a sort of animal feed.^[6]

Related Research Articles

Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The common fig (F. carica) is a temperate species native to southwest Asia and the Mediterranean region, which has been widely cultivated from ancient times for its fruit, also referred to as figs. The fruit of most other species are also edible though they are usually of only local economic importance or eaten as bushfood. However, they are extremely important food resources for wildlife. Figs are also of considerable cultural importance throughout the tropics, both as objects of worship and for their many practical uses.

Pollination of fruit trees is required to produce seeds with surrounding fruit. It is the process of moving pollen from the anther to the stigma, either in the same flower or in another flower. Some tree species, including many fruit trees, do not produce fruit from self-pollination, so pollinizer trees are planted in orchards.

<i>Ficus macrophylla</i> Species of banyan tree

Ficus macrophylla, commonly known as the Moreton Bay fig or Australian banyan, is a large evergreen banyan tree of the Mulberry Family (Moraceae) native to eastern Australia, from the Wide Bay–Burnett region in the north to the Illawarra in New South Wales, as well as Lord Howe Island where the subspecies F. m. columnaris is a banyan form covering 2.5 acres or more of ground. Its common name is derived from Moreton Bay in Queensland, Australia. It is best known for its imposing buttress roots.

In botany and horticulture, parthenocarpy is the natural or artificially induced production of fruit without fertilisation of ovules, which makes the fruit seedless. The phenomenon has been observed since ancient times but was first scientifically described by German botanist Fritz Noll in 1902.

Ficus rubiginosa, the rusty fig or Port Jackson fig, is a species of flowering plant native to eastern Australia in the genus Ficus. Beginning as a seedling that grows on other plants (hemiepiphyte) or rocks (lithophyte), F. rubiginosa matures into a tree 30 m (100 ft) high and nearly as wide with a yellow-brown buttressed trunk. The leaves are oval and glossy green and measure from 4 to 19.3 cm long and 1.25 to 13.2 cm wide.

Ficus microcarpa, also known as Chinese banyan, Malayan banyan, Indian laurel, curtain fig, or gajumaru (ガジュマル), is a tree in the fig family Moraceae. It is native in a range from China through tropical Asia and the Caroline Islands to Australia. It is widely planted as a shade tree and frequently misidentified as the Balete tree: F. retusa or F. nitida.

Ficus citrifolia, also known as the shortleaf fig, giant bearded fig, Jagüey, wild banyantree and Wimba tree, is a species of banyan native to southern Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America south to Paraguay. It is distinguished from the closely related Florida strangler fig mainly by the finer veining in the leaves.

Ficus elastica, the rubber fig, rubber bush, rubber tree, rubber plant, or Indian rubber bush, Indian rubber tree, is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to eastern parts of South and Southeast Asia. It has become naturalized in Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and the US state of Florida. Despite its common names, it is not used in the commercial production of natural rubber.

Ficus sycomorus, called the sycamore fig or the fig-mulberry, sycamore, or sycomore, is a fig species that has been cultivated since ancient times.

Ficus pumila var. awkeotsang, also known as the jelly fig, aiyu, or ai-yu, is a variety of Ficus pumila, and a member of the fig family Moraceae, native to Taiwan. The plant is known for its use in making aiyu jelly.

Ficus aurea, commonly known as the Florida strangler fig, golden fig, or higuerón, is a tree in the family Moraceae that is native to the U.S. state of Florida, the northern and western Caribbean, southern Mexico and Central America south to Panama. The specific epithet aurea was applied by English botanist Thomas Nuttall who described the species in 1846.

Ficus americana, commonly known as the West Indian laurel fig or Jamaican cherry fig, is a tree in the family Moraceae which is native to the Caribbean, Mexico in the north, through Central and South America south to southern Brazil. It is an introduced species in Florida, USA. The species is variable; the five recognised subspecies were previously placed in a large number of other species.

Ficus pleurocarpa, commonly known as the banana fig, karpe fig or gabi fig, is a fig that is endemic to the wet tropical rainforests of northeastern Queensland, Australia. It has characteristic ribbed orange and red cylindrical syconia. It begins life as a hemiepiphyte, later becoming a tree up to 25 m (82 ft) tall. F. pleurocarpa is one of the few figs known to be pollinated by more than one species of fig wasp.

Ficus obliqua, commonly known as the small-leaved fig, is a tree in the family Moraceae, native to eastern Australia, New Guinea, eastern Indonesia to Sulawesi and islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Previously known for many years as Ficus eugenioides, it is a banyan of the genus Ficus, which contains around 750 species worldwide in warm climates, including the edible fig. Beginning life as a seedling, which grows on other plants (epiphyte) or on rocks (lithophyte), F. obliqua can grow to 60 m (200 ft) high and nearly as wide with a pale grey buttressed trunk, and glossy green leaves.

The fig is the edible fruit of Ficus carica, a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, together with western and southern Asia. It has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world. Ficus carica is the type species of the genus Ficus, containing over 800 tropical and subtropical plant species.

<i>Blastophaga psenes</i> Species of wasp

Blastophaga psenes is a wasp species in the genus Blastophaga. It pollinates the common fig Ficus carica and the closely related Ficus palmata. Without a colony or nest, these wasps breed in figs, and the adults live for only a few days or weeks. They locate the fig they wish to pollinate through olfactory senses.

Ficus auriculata is a type of fig tree, native to subtropical and tropical mainland Asia. It is noted for its big and round leaves and edible fruit.

The genus Ficus is composed of 800 species of vines, shrubs, and trees, defined by their syconiums, the fruit-like vessels that either hold female flowers or pollen on the inside. In addition to being cultivated by humans for thousands of years, Ficus is also known for their reproductive mutualism with the fig wasp.

Ficus amplissima, also known as the Indian bat tree, Indian bat fig, Pimpri, Pipri (Piparee), Pipali or Bilibasari mara is a tree species of flowering plants that belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is native to Central and southern Peninsular India, Sri Lanka and Maldives, having a significant distribution throughout Western Ghats of India. It is most commonly planted to provide shade in coffee plantations due to its dense and wide foliage. The ripened figs attract many birds, especially during the spring.

References

1 2 3 4 5 Kislev, Mordechai E.; Hartmann, Anat; Bar-Yosef, Ofer (2006-06-02). "Early domesticated fig in the Jordan Valley". Science. 312 (5778): 1372–1374. doi:10.1126/science.1125910. ISSN 1095-9203. PMID 16741119. S2CID 42150441.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Polat, A. Aytekin; Siddiq, Muhammad (2012-11-20), Siddiq, Muhammad (ed.), "Figs", Tropical and Subtropical Fruits, Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 455–477, doi:10.1002/9781118324097.ch24, ISBN 978-1-118-32409-7, S2CID 243453674 , retrieved 2022-01-11
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Janick, Jules (2005-02-14), Janick, Jules (ed.), "The Origins of Fruits, Fruit Growing, and Fruit Breeding", Plant Breeding Reviews, Oxford, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pp. 255–321, doi:10.1002/9780470650301.ch8, ISBN 978-0-470-65030-1 , retrieved 2022-01-11
↑ Hooper, Rowan. 2006. Figs Came First, New Scientist 190(2555): 1
1 2 Eisen, Gustavus A. (1901). The fig: its history, culture, and curing, with a descriptive catalogue of the known varieties of figs. Washington: Govt. print. off. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.15519.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Tous, J. and Louise Ferguson.1996. Mediterranean Fruits: 416-430
↑ Conocimiento, Ventana al (2019-01-29). "The Genetic Mystery of Citrus Fruits: How Did We Manage to Domesticate Them?". OpenMind. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Lelong, B. M. (1891). Fig caprification : or the setting of the fruit / by B. M. Lelong. Sacramento, Calif.: Sacramento, Calif. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.25908.
↑ Denham, Tim (2007-06-01). "Early fig domestication, or gathering of wild parthenocarpic figs?". Antiquity. 81 (312): 457–461. doi:10.1017/s0003598x00095326. ISSN 0003-598X. S2CID 162151471.

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[:0-1] 1 2 3 4 5 Kislev, Mordechai E.; Hartmann, Anat; Bar-Yosef, Ofer (2006-06-02). "Early domesticated fig in the Jordan Valley". Science. 312 (5778): 1372–1374. doi:10.1126/science.1125910. ISSN 1095-9203. PMID 16741119. S2CID 42150441.

[:1-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Polat, A. Aytekin; Siddiq, Muhammad (2012-11-20), Siddiq, Muhammad (ed.), "Figs", Tropical and Subtropical Fruits, Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 455–477, doi:10.1002/9781118324097.ch24, ISBN 978-1-118-32409-7, S2CID 243453674 , retrieved 2022-01-11

[:2-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Janick, Jules (2005-02-14), Janick, Jules (ed.), "The Origins of Fruits, Fruit Growing, and Fruit Breeding", Plant Breeding Reviews, Oxford, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pp. 255–321, doi:10.1002/9780470650301.ch8, ISBN 978-0-470-65030-1 , retrieved 2022-01-11

[4] Hooper, Rowan. 2006. Figs Came First, New Scientist 190(2555): 1

[:3-5] 1 2 Eisen, Gustavus A. (1901). The fig: its history, culture, and curing, with a descriptive catalogue of the known varieties of figs. Washington: Govt. print. off. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.15519.

[:4-6] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Tous, J. and Louise Ferguson.1996. Mediterranean Fruits: 416-430

[7] Conocimiento, Ventana al (2019-01-29). "The Genetic Mystery of Citrus Fruits: How Did We Manage to Domesticate Them?". OpenMind. Retrieved 2020-01-22.

[:5-8] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Lelong, B. M. (1891). Fig caprification : or the setting of the fruit / by B. M. Lelong. Sacramento, Calif.: Sacramento, Calif. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.25908.

[9] Denham, Tim (2007-06-01). "Early fig domestication, or gathering of wild parthenocarpic figs?". Antiquity. 81 (312): 457–461. doi:10.1017/s0003598x00095326. ISSN 0003-598X. S2CID 162151471.

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