Fig

The fig tree, a type of ficus, is an ancient species. Like grapevines, fig trees were held in high regard by the Greeks and Romans of the classical world. The Greeks, believing the tree was a gift to Athens from Ceres (the goddess of grain and agriculture), planted a grove of fig trees in the main public square. The Romans also honored the fig, recalling that their founding princes, Romulus and Remus, were born under its sheltering branches. They offered a sacrifice each year in the fig grove planted in the Forum. Since these noble beginnings, figs have been a predominant fruit along the Mediterranean seaboard. Today they are also widely cultivated in California.