common fig Moraceae Ficus carica L.   symbol: FICA
	Leaf: Alternate, simple, deciduous; 5 inches in diameter, but sometimes larger; palmately lobed with (usually) 5 finger-like lobes, dark green above and lighter green below, petiole exudes a milky sap, somewhat scabrous, margins entire and wavy. Flower: Either male and female or all female, flowers not showy, green, fleshy and rounded, the actual flowers minute, located on the inner surface of a hollow receptacle. Generally not pollinated in North America because the pollinating wasp is not present. Fruit: An edible fig; purple-brown, pear- or onion-shaped, and somewhat leathery when mature, succulent, 1 to 2 inches, technically a multiple of tiny drupes; produced in two distinct crops - an early crop that arises from old wood and a late summer crop that arises from new wood; delicious. Twig: Stout, new growth may be somewhat pubescent, leaf scars nearly round, terminal bud conical, wrapped in a single cap-like scale that leaves a bud scale scar that nearly encircles the twig. Resting buds apparently form after each leaf is formed. On overwintering twigs, flower buds are nearly round. Bark: Smooth and silvery gray, somewhat warty. Form: A broadly spreading shrub or small tree with a height of 25 feet and a width greater than or equal to the height.
	USDA Plants Database Ficus carica is planted in the highlighted USDA hardiness zones to the left and may seed into the landscape. See a map of the states in which common fig has escaped (opens a new window).