Any tree of the genus Ficus of the mulberry family Moraceae, including the many cultivated varieties of F. carica, originally from W Asia. They produce two or three crops of fruit a year. Eaten fresh or dried, figs have a high sugar content and laxative properties.
In the wild, F. carica is dependent on the fig wasp for pollination, and the wasp in turn is parasitic on the flowers. The tropical banyan F. benghalensis has less attractive edible fruit, and roots that grow down from its branches. The bo tree under which Buddha became enlightened is the Indian peepul or wild fig F. religiosa.
The only native US fig is the Florida strangler fig F. aurea, which starts off as an epiphyte, growing around other trees, before developing its own root system. They are made up of colonies of individual plants that merge into one.
1. Mediterranean tree widely cultivated for its edible fruit; SYN. common fig, common fig tree, Ficus carica.
2. Fleshy sweet pear-shaped yellowish or purple multiple fruit eaten fresh or preserved or dried. + prikaži više