I recall one paticularly hot northern summer spent wandering the cobbled seaside alleyways of Attica, Greece, plucking ripe figs off tree stems, a viscous white milk weeping at the moment of the break. Greedily I would peel back the fruit’s skin there and then, and stuff my hungry mouth with the delicious flavours of nature’s bounty.
Figs from Anavissos, Attika Greece: f/10; Exposure 1/800sec; ISO-100
It took a couple of attempts at gorging on just-plucked figs with what followed – dreadful hives-like allergic mouth reaction – to realise that the milky sap which oozes from the fig’s stem is most definitely acidic and burns. Red, puffy, swollen lips, mouth and skin. What’s worse? Sun makes it worse. Just think Greek summer radiating sun, salty Aegean water assailing the developing sores…ouch.
But ficus carica is not a dastardly tree. The fig’s sap acts as a natural pest defence, since it can stop some infections in their tracks and is also deadly to almost all insects. The fig wasn’t to know I’m not some crazed critter trying to infest its tree… I learned quickly to respect the fig tree, its defense mechanisms, and take my time to enjoy the fruit – washed and properly peeled.
Ficus carica: NIKON D3000 f/5.6; Exposure 1/320sec; ISO-200
What I have always accepted as a “fruit” is technically a synconium: a fleshy, hollow receptacle with a small opening at the apex partly closed by small scales and ranging in glorious colours: yellowish-green to coppery, bronze, and dark-purple. See the tiny flowers collecting on the inside wall? In the case of the common fig the flowers are all female and need no pollination.
So lets get this right: delicious flesh, dazzling colours, built-in protection and an all-star cast of female-only flowers! Figs – I am so grateful to know you.
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