| The Common Fig | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Common Fig foliage and fruit
|
||||||||||||||||
| Conservation status | ||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||||
| Ficus carica L. |
The Common fig (Ficus carica) is a large, deciduous, shrub or small tree native to southwest Asia and the eastern Mediterranean region (Greece east to Afghanistan). Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for Botany Autumn leaf color. See --> In Botany and Horticulture, deciduous Plants, including A shrub or Bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of Woody plant, distinguished from a Tree A tree is a perennial Woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت,
It grows to a height of 3-10m tall, with smooth grey bark. Bark, also known as periderm is the outermost layer of stems and Roots of Woody plants such as Trees It overlays the Wood and consists
The leaves are 12–25 cm long and 10–18 cm across, and deeply lobed with three or five lobes. In Botany, a leaf is an above-ground Plant organ specialized for Photosynthesis.
The fruit is 3–5 cm long, with a green skin sometimes ripening towards purple. The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. The sap of the tree's green parts is an irritant to human skin.
Contents |
Cultivation and uses
.jpg/240px-Dumur_in_Bangla).jpg)
The Common Fig is widely grown for its edible fruit throughout its natural range Iran and also in the rest of the Mediterranean region and other areas of the world with a similar climate, including Australia, Chile, South Africa, and California, Oregon, Texas, and Washington in the United States. The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Oregon ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. Washington ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Thousands of cultivars, most unnamed, have been developed or come into existence as human migration brought the fig to many places outside its natural range. A cultivar is a cultivated Plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics it is usually distinct from similar It has been an important food crop for thousands of years, and was also thought to be highly beneficial in the diet.
The edible fig is one of the first plants that were cultivated by humans. Nine subfossil figs of a parthenocarpic type dating to about 9400–9200 BC were found in the early Neolithic village Gilgal I (in the Jordan Valley, 13 km north of Jericho). Subfossil refers to remains whose Fossilization process is not complete either for lack of time or because the condition in which they were buried were not optimal for fossilization In Botany and Horticulture, parthenocarpy (literally meaning virgin fruit is the natural or artificially induced production of fruit without fertilization of The Neolithic (from Greek νεολιθικός — neolithikos from νέος neos, "new" + λίθος lithos The find predates the domestication of wheat, barley and legumes, and may thus be the first known instance of agriculture. Wheat ( Triticum spp is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Levant area of the Middle East. Barley ( Hordeum vulgare) is an annual Cereal Grain, which serves as a major animal Feed crop, with smaller amounts used for A legume is a Plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae or a Fruit of these specific plants Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture It is proposed that they may have been planted and cultivated intentionally, one thousand years before the next crops were domesticated (wheat and rye). Wheat ( Triticum spp is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Levant area of the Middle East. Rye ( Secale cereale) is a grass grown extensively as a grain and forage crop [1]
Figs were also a common foodsource for the Romans. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Cato the Elder, in his De Agri Cultura, lists several strains of figs grown at the time he wrote his handbook: the Mariscan, African, Herculanean, Saguntine, and the black Tellanian (De agri cultura, ch. Marcus Porcius Cato ( Latin: M·PORCIVS·M·F·CATO (234 BC Tusculum &ndash149 BC was a Roman statesman surnamed the Censor De Agri Cultura ( On Farming or On Agriculture) written by Cato the Elder, is the oldest surviving work of Latin prose 8). The fruits were used, among other things, to fatten geese for the production of a precursor of foie gras.
Figs can be eaten fresh or dried, and used in jam-making. Most commercial production is in dried or otherwise processed forms, since the ripe fruit does not transport well, and once picked does not keep well. In Bengal, the fruit is called Dumur. Etymology and ethnology The exact origin of the word Bangla or Bengal is unknown though it is believed to be derived from the Dravidian-speaking tribe Bang It is cooked as a vegetable and is believed to be good for heart ailments.
Production statistics
| Fig, dried, uncooked Nutritional value per 100 g (3. 5 oz) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy 250 kcal 1040 kJ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Reference Daily Intake (or Recommended Daily Intake ( RDI) is the daily dietary intake level of a nutrient which was considered (at the time they were defined to be sufficient Source: USDA Nutrient database |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FAO reports the 2005 fig-production was 1,057,000 tonnes; Turkey was the top fig-producer (285,000 tonnes), followed by Egypt (170,000 tonnes) and other Mediterranean countries. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics.
Aydın, İzmir and Muğla region, which used to be called antique Caria region, are the top fig-producers in Turkey. Aidın (Αϊδίνιο is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey 's Aegean Region. İzmir, historically Smyrna, is the third most populous city of Turkey and the country's largest port after İstanbul. Muğla is the seat of Muğla province, which stretches along Turkey ´s Aegean coast in the southwest of the country Municipalities of Caria Cramer's detailed catalog of Carian towns in Classical Greece is based entirely on ancient sources
Cultivars
- Alma
- Brown Turkey
- Celeste
- Italian black
- Italian white
- Kadota: used in Fig Newtons, dries well
- Lemon Fig: also known as Blanch, or Marseilles
- Mission: black, sweet, commonly dried. A cultivar is a cultivated Plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics it is usually distinct from similar The Fig Newton is a brand of fig bar (in Europe, fig roll) cookie Pastry filled with Fig jam The mission fig is a particular strain of the Fig fruit that was introduced to Northern California by the Franciscan missionaries who also provided
Figs and health
Figs are one of the highest plant sources of calcium and fiber. Calcium (ˈkælsiəm is the Chemical element with the symbol Ca and Atomic number 20 According to USDA data for the Mission variety, dried figs are richest in fiber, copper, manganese, magnesium, potassium, calcium, and vitamin K, relative to human needs. Potassium (pəˈtæsiəm is a Chemical element. It has the symbol K (kalium from qalīy Atomic number 19 and Atomic mass 39 They have smaller amounts of many other nutrients. Figs have a laxative effect and contain many antioxidants. Laxatives (or purgatives) are foods compounds or drugs taken to induce bowel movements or to loosen the stool most often taken to treat Constipation. They are good source of flavonoids and polyphenols[2]. The term flavonoid (or bioflavonoid refers to a class of Plant Secondary metabolites According to the IUPAC nomenclature they can be classified into Polyphenols are a group of chemical substances found in plants characterized by the presence of more than one Phenol unit or building block per molecule In one study, a 40-gram portion of dried figs (two medium size figs) produced a significant increase in plasma antioxidant capacity[3].
Propagation
The flower is invisible, as it blooms inside the fruit. The small orifice visible on the middle fruit is a narrow passage, which allows a very specialised wasp, the fig wasp, to enter the fruit and pollinate the flower, whereafter the fruit grows seeds. Fig wasps are Wasps of the family Agaonidae which pollinate Figs or are otherwise associated with figs
Cultural aspects
In the book of Genesis in the Bible, Adam and Eve clad themselves with fig leaves (Genesis 3:7) after eating the "forbidden fruit" from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin Adam (אָדָם ʼĀḏām, "dust man mankind" آدم; Ge'ez: አዳ and Eve (חַוָּה Ḥawwā, "living A fig leaf is the covering up of an act or an object that is embarrassing or disagreeable Forbidden Fruit is an album by singer/pianist/songwriter Nina Simone (1933-2003 In the Book of Genesis, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (and occasionally translated as the Tree of Conscience,) was a Tree in the middle of the Likewise, fig leaves, or depictions of fig leaves, have long been used to cover the genitals of nude figures in painting and sculpture. A sex organ, or primary sexual characteristic, as narrowly defined is any of the anatomical parts of the body which are involved in sexual reproduction and constitute Often these fig leaves were added by art collectors or exhibitors long after the original work was completed. The use of the fig leaf as a protector of modesty or shield of some kind has entered the language.
The biblical quote "each man under his own vine and fig tree" (1 Kings 4:25) has been used to denote peace and prosperity. It was commonly quoted to refer to the life that would be led by settlers in the American West, and was used by Theodor Herzl in his depiction of the future Jewish Homeland. Theodor Herzl (בנימין זאב הרצל ( Binyamin Ze'ev Herzl) (May 2 1860&ndashJuly 3 1904 was an Austrian Jewish journalist who founded modern History of Zionism|Timeline of Zionism|World Zionist Organization|Zionist political violence Zionism is an international political movement that originally supported the
There is a chapter in the Quran named after the fig tree, and the fruit is also mentioned in Qur'an in many places. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran The Prophet Muhammad mentioned figs and then stated, "If I had to mention a fruit that descended from paradise I would say this is it because the paradisiacal fruits do not have pits. IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics . . eat from these fruits for they prevent hemorrhoids, prevent piles and help gout. " (Bukhari) [1]
Since the flower is invisible, there is a Bengali proverb: tumi jeno dumurer phool hoe gele, you have become (invisible like) the dumur flower. The derisive English idiom I don't care a fig probably originates from the abundance of this fruit.
In Greek mythology the god Apollo sends a crow to collect water from a stream for him. Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance the crow sees a fig tree and waits for the figs to ripen, tempted by the fruit. He knows that he is late and that his tardiness will be punished so he gets a snake from the stream and collects the water. He presents Apollo with the water and uses the snake as an excuse. Apollo sees through the crow's lie and throws the crow, goblet, and snake into the sky where they form the constellations Hydra, Crater and Corvus. Hydra (ˈhaɪdrə is the largest of the 88 modern Constellations and was also one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy. Crater (ˈkreɪtɚ cup) is one of the 88 modern Constellations and was also one of the 48 listed by Ptolemy. Corvus (ˈkɔrvəs Raven or Crow) is a small southern Constellation with only 11 stars visible to the naked eye (brighter than magnitude 5
The word "sycophant" actually meaning 'showing the figs' (derived by the Greek words σῦκον sukon, "fig", and φαίνω faino, "to show") was used in ancient Greece for those who informed against another for exporting figs (which was forbidden by law) or for stealing the fruit of the sacred fig-trees, whether in time of famine or on any other occasion (Plutarch, Life of Solon, 24, 2. A sycophant (from the Greek συκοφάντης sykophántēs) is a Servile person who acting in his or her own self interest attempts to win favor ).
The figrid tree is sacred to Dionysus Sukites (Συκίτης). In Classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos (in Greek, Διόνυσος or Διώνυσος; associated with Roman
Picture gallery
 Leaves and green fruit on common fig tree |
 Common Fig leaves and fruit |
 The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden - fresco depicting a distressed Adam and Eve, with and without fig leaves, by Tommaso Masaccio, 1426-27 |
Footnotes
- ^ Kislev et al. Fresco (plural either frescos or frescoes) is any of several related Painting types done on Plaster on walls or Masaccio (born Tommaso Cassai or in some accounts Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Mone; December 21, 1401 &ndash autumn 1428 was the first great (2006a, b), Lev-Yadun et al. (2006)
- ^ Vinson (1999)
- ^ Vinson et al. (2005)
References
- Kislev, Mordechai E. ; Hartmann, Anat & Bar-Yosef, Ofer (2006a): Early Domesticated Fig in the Jordan Valley. Science 312(5778): 1372. Science is the Academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is considered one of the world's most prestigious Scientific doi:10.1126/science.1125910 (HTML abstract) Supporting Online Material
- Kislev, Mordechai E. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. ; Hartmann, Anat & Bar-Yosef, Ofer (2006b): Response to Comment on "Early Domesticated Fig in the Jordan Valley". Science 314(5806): 1683b. Science is the Academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is considered one of the world's most prestigious Scientific doi:10.1126/science.1133748 PDF fulltext
- Lev-Yadun, Simcha; Ne'eman, Gidi; Abbo, Shahal & Flaishman, Moshe A. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. (2006): Comment on "Early Domesticated Fig in the Jordan Valley". Science 314(5806): 1683a. Science is the Academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is considered one of the world's most prestigious Scientific doi:10.1126/science.1132636 PDF fulltext
- Vinson, Joe A. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. (1999): Functional food properties of figs. Cereal Foods World 44(2): 82-87. PDF fulltext
- Vinson, Joe A. ; Zubik, Ligia; Bose, Pratima; Samman, Najwa & Proch, John (2005): Dried fruits: excellent in vitro and in vivo antioxidants. J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 24(1): 44-50. The American College of Nutrition ( ACN) was established in 1959 to encourage the scientific investigation of Nutrition. PMID 15670984 PDF fulltext
External links
- FIG VARIETIES: A MONOGRAPHPDF (4. 11 MiB)
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic