The fig is the edible fruit of Ficus carica, a species of small shrub in the flowering plant family Moraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, together with western and southern Asia.

A fig plant is a small deciduous tree or large shrub growing up to 7–10 m (23–33 ft) tall, with smooth white bark.

In 2018, world production of raw figs was 1.14 million tonnes, led by Turkey and North African countries (Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria) as the largest producers, collectively accounting for 64% of the total.

The name of the caprifig, Ficus caprificus Risso, is derived both from Latin caper, genitive capri (he-goat) and English fig.

[7] Ficus carica is a gynodioecious, deciduous tree or large shrub that grows up to 7–10 m (23–33 ft) tall, with smooth white bark.

The fig fruit develops as a hollow, fleshy structure called the syconium that is lined internally with numerous unisexual flowers.

Situated in a favorable habitat, mature specimens can grow to considerable size as large, dense, shade trees.

With access to this water, the tree cools the hot environments in which it grows, thus producing fresh and pleasant habitat for many animals that shelter in its shade during periods of intense heat.

Nine subfossil figs of a parthenocarpic (and therefore sterile) 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).

It is proposed that this sterile but desirable type was planted and cultivated intentionally, one thousand years before the next crops were domesticated (wheat and rye).

Cato the Elder, in his c. 160 BC 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.

[32] As the population of California grew, especially after the gold rush, a number of other cultivars were brought there by persons and nurserymen from the east coast of the US and from France and England.

By the end of the 19th century, it became apparent that California had the potential for being an ideal fig producing state because of its Mediterranean-like climate and latitude of 38 degrees, lining up San Francisco with İzmir, Turkey.

For vegetative propagation, shoots with buds can be planted in well-watered soil in the spring or summer, or a branch can be scratched to expose the bast (inner bark) and pinned to the ground to allow roots to develop.

[34][36] People of the Italian diaspora who live in cold-winter climates have the practice of burying imported fig trees to overwinter them and protect the fruiting hard wood from cold.

[37] Italian immigrants to America in the 19th century introduced this common practice in cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Toronto, where winters are normally too cold to leave the tree exposed.

Specimens are often wrapped in waterproof material to discourage development of mould and fungus, then covered with a heavy layer of soil and leaves.

[39] In borderline climates like New York City burying trees is no longer needed because low winter temperatures have increased.

Often specimens are simply wrapped in plastic and other insulating material, or not protected if planted in a sheltered site against a wall that absorbs sunlight.

[40] Due to insect and fungal disease pressure in both dried and fresh figs, the breeding program was revived in 1989 by James Doyle and Louise Ferguson using the germplasm established at UC Riverside by Ira Condit and William Storey.

They are a moderate source (14% of the Daily Value, DV) of dietary fiber and 310 kilojoules (74 kcal) of food energy per 100-gram serving, and do not supply essential micronutrients in significant contents (table).

[52] In some old Mediterranean folk practices, the milky sap of the fig plant was used to soften calluses, remove warts, and deter parasites.

Like other plant species in the family Moraceae, contact with the milky sap of Ficus carica followed by exposure to ultraviolet light can cause phytophotodermatitis,[54][55] a potentially serious skin inflammation.

[citation needed] Psoralen and bergapten are found chiefly in the milky sap of the leaves and shoots of F. carica but not the fruits.

[citation needed] Babylonian Ishtar for example took the form of the divine fig tree Xikum, the "primeval mother at the central place of the earth", protectress of the saviour Tammuz.

[citation needed] The biblical quote "each man under his own vine and fig tree" (Micah 4:4) 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,[64] and was used by Theodor Herzl in his depiction of the future Jewish Homeland: "We are a commonwealth.

Our aim is mentioned in the First Book of Kings: 'Judah and Israel shall dwell securely, each man under his own vine and fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba".

[65] United States President George Washington, writing in 1790 to the Touro Synagogue of Newport, Rhode Island, extended the metaphor to denote the equality of all Americans regardless of faith.

"[67] Ten fossil endocarps of †Ficus potentilloides from the early Miocene, have been found in the Kristina Mine at Hrádek nad Nisou in North Bohemia, the Czech Republic.