Common Fig

Ficus carica

Plant Data

Order:

Rosales

Family:

Moraceae (Mulberry)

Type:

Flower

Flower:

Green, no petals

Small and green, later turning into figs. Mainly pollinated by wasps.

Fruit:

Showy pear-shaped fruit, borne solitary, green to brown. The fruit develops within each receptacle and ripens in late summer.

Leaves:

Deciduous. Large broadly ovate alternate leaves, palmate 3 to 7-lobed with toothed margins. The upper leaf surface is dark green and has a texture similar to sandpaper. The lower leaf surface is pale green and smooth. The leaves are arranged spirally along the stems on stalks of up to 5cm.

Maximum Size:

4 metres tall

Foraging Notes:

Fruit is edible. Sweet-tasting with a sticky texture. High in fibre, iron and magnesium.
Never consume a wild plant unless you are 100% certain that it is safe to eat and you know that you have identified it correctly.

Other Names:

Adriatic Fig, Edible Fig, Smyrna Fig.

Frequency (UK):

Unusual

Habitats:

Walls, wasteland.