Hello! I have cuttings (fig) I received from a friend but she did not know the variety. Can anyone help? Here's what I know:
leaves are small-medium, leaves are dull on top with 5 lobes. The pictures should show the rest. Thanks!
This message was edited Nov 18, 2010 1:39 PM
pic #2
pic #3
pic #4
It looks a lot like my Texas Everbearing Brown Turkey, but I can't be sure, I am not an expert on figs, but I do love them and so do my squirrels who always get them before I do.
frostweed,
Thanks for your post. While there are some similarities with the Brown Turkey, there are also significant differences. For one, the color of the skin is primarily yellow/gold. The brown/bronze coloration is primarily at the apex. Brown Turkey figs seem to be primarily uniform in color. Also, the core of the pulp is markedly hollow and the eye is closed to slightly open. The leaves too are med/lrg and 5-lobed with spatulate shape. Lastly, according to Condit, Brown Turkey main crop figs average 28 grams. This tree produces much larger figs than that. Do you have pictures of your tree I may be able to see?
I am sorry, no pictures handy right now but I found this nice link.
http://www.wildetree.com/brownturkeyfig.html
Thanks for the link. None of those varietes are even close. Any other suggestions?
It looks like a Brown Turkey to me too. It is the most commonly sold fig next to Celeste in Texas.
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/fig/msg0900483629298.html
If your friend bought theirs at a Home Depot or Lowes, it is going to be one of the two. There are variations on the color and fruit shape depending on water, heat, sun, etc.
If they received theirs recently, it could possible be a Black Mission that wasnt fully ripe yet.
http://www.baldorfood.com/Figs-Black-Mission-3867-prod.htm
Ummm, guys, this year isn't a good one for comparing ripening issues. There are issues all across the south over fruit not ripening this year, and they are hoping this early freeze doesn't totally ruin the fruit crops. Age of the tree has a lot to do with sizes, water availability, but really do try to allow for ripening times to be late by about 6 wks again this year. I have avoided planting figs because I like the small ones that reproduce constantly and finished by Sept, and haven't made up my mind on where to add it into the yard. Luck.
Thanks for your responses, guys. I realize that there is a lot of confusion out there about Brown Turkey and that figs seem to have a peculiar ability to change characteristics depending on horticulture, region and pollination so identification can be practically impossible. I am hoping someone out there has a bush/tree that more closely resembles mine and may know the variatal. The Brown Turkey on that link bears almost no resemblance other than similar skin tones. Neither is it a Celeste. The probability that it would be a BT or Celeste based on sales discounts the many other ways figs make their way around the world. The parent is an in-ground, single trunk specimen. The fruit in the picture was picked the first week of August and was fully ripe. This fig has a closed eye, seedless and only produces leaves with 5 lobes. Just for laughs, take a look at the "Black Mission" I picked up from Lowes last winter.
I have found that if you ask an employee, they usually let you take cuttings too.
Thanks for the tip, Jujube. My point about the Black Mission was that it is no more a Black Mission fig than Bin Laden is a liberal. lol. Here is another surprize (courtesy of Willis Orchards). The order was for a White Kadota fig tree. Not even close! It's nurseries like these (the Black Mission was from Dave Wison's) that add to the confusion. If you're going to sell a fig variety, at least make sure it resembles what the buyer is looking for!
I love figs. When I first moved to Texas, I spent a lot of time looking varieties that would grow well in my area so I ran across plenty of websites with fig information, but unfortunately with few photos. I was totally floored to discover how many fig varieties there are, many of whom are available. It would take an expert to tell what a specific variety was. I would just enjoy the fruit, but here are some links that may help you.
This first link show a photo of only 126 figs and why it would be difficult to ID from hundreds or thousands.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fruitlovers.com/FigPoster.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fruitlovers.com/FigPoster.html&h=1000&w=676&sz=180&tbnid=bLKXDU-P_AJJMM:&tbnh=273&tbnw=184&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dphoto%2Bof%2B%2Bfig%2Bvarieties&zoom=1&q=photo+of++fig+varieties&hl=en&usg=__DuiydGf7yEEDPzC0BDbo617L4O8=&sa=X&ei=CpL6TP7tLsH7lwef6NTgDA&ved=0CB0Q9QEwAA
http://www.raysfiginfo.com/id-figs.html
http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/datastore/391-296.pdf
http://figs4fun.com/Links/FigLink085.pdf
http://www.nafex.org/figs.htm
http://kiwifruitsalsa.wordpress.com/fig-varieties/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24859273/Fig-Varieties-A-Monograph
Another pic of the unknown fig in the OP.
