Native figs in coastal Azerbaijan

Charlie Dodgson

Charlie Dodgson

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See link for article:

growingfruit.org

Hyrcanian figs

[note: the fruit size is very small] First characterization of the Hyrcanian population of Ficus carica L. (syn. Ficus hyrcana Grossh.): a wild fig in Azerbaijan Qamar Qurbanova · Sevda Babayeva · Habib Rahimov · Mehraj Abbasov Genet Resour Crop Evol 03 December 2024 Abstract The...
growingfruit.org growingfruit.org
 
I got bored and figured I'd read about Hycanian figs to pass the time, and since I love coastal Azerbaijan it was a no brainer topic for me to dive into.
Though I don't think I'm comfortable giving you my source at this time. ;)
 
Dang you paid $40+ for that article?
You google first? most of that info you can pick up at different sites for free. :)
 
Tall, large fig trees grow in the lower zone of themesic, deciduous forests of the Colchic (Black Sea)district of northern Turkey and the Hyrcanic(south of Caspian Sea) district of Iran and adjacent Caucasica (Zohary and Spiegel-Roy 1975;Zohary and Hopf 2000). These forest types intergrade with the typical Mediterranean F. carica.Most authors include these wild forms into F.carica. They deserve recognition and have beenaccepted by Russian botanists (see Zhukovsky1964) as F. colchica Grossh. and F. hyrcanaGrossh. In the area they are planted in the gardensas grafting stock for F. carica. Other members ofthe series Carica are warm climate, xeric shrubbytypes distributed outside the traditional area of figcultivation: F. johannis Boiss. in the ZagrosMountains and southern Iran; F. virgata Roxb. inAfghanistan; F. pseudosycomorus Decne in southJordan, the Negev, Sinai, and Egypt, and F. palmata Forssk. in Yemen, Somalia and Ethiopia(Zohary and Hopf 2000).
 

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I'm going down Hyrcanian forest rabbit holes. Very interesting place, so many fruits evolved in Persia, I'd definitely grow the fig if it was available.
 
ZomVee said:
Is the Hyrcanian fig being grown in the US?

Is there a leaf pic?
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From what I have seen. It looks like Carica.
You ever notice that in certain areas of Cali the figs are different than other parts of Cali.
It all depends on what figs where brought there and what seedlngs can survive there.
Basically a subspecies.
Enviroment allows only certain seedling to survive.
In the end a new species is created from an old one.
To survive in a new area.
 
GoodFriendMike said:
From what I have seen. It looks like Carica.
You ever notice that in certain areas of Cali the figs are different than other parts of Cali.
It all depends on what figs where brought there and what seedlngs can survive there.
Basically a subspecies.
Enviroment allows only certain seedling to survive.
In the end a new species is created from an old one.
To survive in a new area.
Click to expand...
Hyrcanian forest looks Appalachian-like. Maybe hybrids might do very well here?
 
@Charlie Dodgson , and @GoodFriendMike I must admit I have developed a great fondness for reading your corresponding posts to one another. I'm going to try to start posting again. I have missed you two. BTW what is meant by a subspecies. If you guys are feeling generous I would like learn a little of what is meant by this term.
 
@Figless
  • species - a wild native population deemed to have the same physical characteristics by taxonomists. For example, Ficus carica.
    • subspecies - subcategory of a species. Basically, Carl Linnaeus thought that "species" would be the base element of his taxonomy system, but it turns out that sometimes it is not enough. For example, Ficus carica subsp. rupestris.
  • landrace - domesticated plants. For example, Apple (Malus x domestica).
    • variety - a subcategory of landrace. For example, Malus x domestica var. Pippin.
  • cultivar - a domesticated labeled selection of a species or landrace.
  • hybrid - a natural or domesticated cross between different species, different landraces, or a combination. For example, Ficus palmata x carica.
 
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GoodFriendMike said:
Have you read other articles on it?
Click to expand...
Several.

GoodFriendMike said:
Truly seems to be a location specific subspecies.
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From this December 2024 paper:

Browicz (1979), a Polish botanist, argued that F. hyrcana is synonymous with F. carica ssp. carica, stating there is no basis to separate the two species, with supporting herbarium images preserved in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh’s catalog.
Click to expand...

Note also that the Hyrcanian forests are not specific to Azerbaijan. From the paper:

1000000791.png
 
ZomVee said:
No leaf pic?
Click to expand...
The first post of this topic points to a page containing a PDF of the article. That site (like this one) does not require membership to view content. There are several pictures of leaves and fruit in the article.

As the authors point out, the fruit size is much smaller than what we observe in domesticated figs. This is typical when comparing landrace fruit to wild native specimens of a species.

The authors speculate that these wild specimens are representative of native F. carica subsp. carica prior to domestication. The Kew RBG in London has living plants in their Ficus catalog. I intend to sequence them.
 
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