Give a Fig

Another oddity about ficus carica is that, according to the California fig advisory board, the "fruit" is actually "a flower that is inverted into itself." The blossoms appear in the interior and "the seeds are drupes, the real fruit." This, as you may imagine, causes some problems with pollination! Fortunately, common figs don't require it, since they can produce hollow seeds anyway. Those, like the Smyrna type, however, need caprification. In this process wild figs, known as caprifigs, are placed in cultivated trees. The caprifigs contain wasps that carry pollen through small orifices in the fruits from the wild ones to the tame ones.

In ancient times, figs were considered the ultimate health food. According to Pliny, "They increase the strength of young people, preserve the elderly in better health, and make them look younger with fewer wrinkles." The fruits were also the favorite training food of gladiators and the original Olympic athletes. At one point, Greece went so far as to forbid any exportation of the fruit. So the word "sycophant" ("informer") actually derives from the Greek "to show the fig."

The price of a single fruit was probably negligible, however, since fig has frequently been used in slang expressions to indicate "a trivial or contemptible amount." ("I don't give a fig, I don't care a fig," etc.) Maybe that's why the fruit itself stands for "argument" in the Language of Flowers.

Although about half dextrose (a form of sugar) figs are also high in fiber and antioxidants. A mild laxative, the fruits, roasted, have also been used as poultices to draw out the infection from abscesses, boils, carbuncles, etc. ("For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover." Isaiah 38:21.) They also contain a sulphur, ficin, which soothes swollen joints and an anti-cancer element called benzaldehyde. The acrid white juice of the tree supposedly burns off warts as well.

Modern herbalists recommend a syrup made from cooked figs to soothe sore throats and coughs. Jethro Kloss reported that fig leaves boiled in Crisco "make an excellent ointment." He also prescribed a tea made from the leaves to remove age spots and bruises.

Fortunately, there are plenty of more pleasant reasons to savor the sweet taste of figs. You could make your own Fig Newtons, for example. Or, this year, when those carolers sing, "Bring us a

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