Unlike cherry or almond trees, the fig tree does not produce visible flowers. The fig is actually an inflorescence, a cluster of hundreds of small, inward-facing flowers.
To reproduce, it depends on a very specific insect: Blastophaga psenes, a tiny wasp. It carries pollen from the male fig tree (capri fig) to the female fig tree, ensuring pollination in a perfect survival exchange: the wasp lays its eggs, the fig multiplies. It’s a fascinating symbiosis called mutualism.
Each crunchy little grain of a fig is a seed born from a fertilized flower called an achene. One bite of a fig = hundreds of mini fruits!
Today, most of the figs we eat are partenocarps: they no longer require wasps to form. An ancient fruit, with an astonishing botanical history, and a unique taste that can be enjoyed in a different way.
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