Why Fig Trees Never Blossom - The Mercury News

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By Michael Marks, correspondentPUBLISHED: July 21, 2015 at 10:00 AM PDT | UPDATED: August 12, 2016 at 1:23 AM PDTGetting your Trinity Audio player ready...

You will never see blossoms on a fig tree. The fruit is the blossom — and it’s actually an inverted flower. At maturity, the interior of the fig contains only the remains of the flower, including the small, gritty structures we usually refer to as seeds. These “seeds” are actually unfertilized ovaries that failed to develop, and they give the fig that resinlike flavor and texture.

There are many varieties of figs, but only a few are commercially grown: the Calimyrna, Smyrna, Brown Turkey, Kadota and the popular Black Mission. Father Junipero Serra and the early missionaries brought the Black Mission variety to California. Serra used the fig tree as the corner posts for his missions — hence the name — starting with Mission San Diego.

Most of our figs are grown in the San Joaquin Valley. The fig tree produces two crops a year, including the smaller, “breba” crop in early summer. The name comes from the Spanish word “breva,” meaning “brief.” The second, larger crop is in late summer to early fall. Fresh figs are harvested fully ripe; store them in your refrigerator for no more than 72 hours.

Michael Marks is the marketing manager for FreshPoint.

In the Bins

Bartlett pears Cortland$1.29 to $1.49 per poundTips: These first-of-the-season pears from the Sacramento River region will take a little longer to ripen.Frisée Salinas, Oxnard$1.29 to $1.79 per headTips: Chefs use frisée to add texture to a salad — and make it look like a more generous portion. Pattypan squash Local farms, Fresno, Salinas79 to 99 cents per poundTips: The green pattypans have very thin skin, so be gentle with them. These are great cut in half, brushed with olive oil and grilled.

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