Fairy fig is a small wild relative of the common fig, bearing sweet, dark purple figs only about ½–1 in (1–2.5 cm) across. It grows wild in warm parts of East and South Asia and is not found in the wild in the United States. It has drawn attention from fig breeders because it resists a fungal canker that damages common figs. It is also called Japanese fig.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A shrub or small tree, usually 7–16 ft (2–5 m) tall and sometimes up to about 23 ft (7 m), with smooth, pale gray bark. Broken twigs and leaves ooze a milky sap, as in other figs.
- Leaves
- Alternate, smooth-edged, oblong leaves with a pointed tip, about 2–4 in (5–10 cm) long. The surface ranges from smooth to slightly rough with short hairs, and plants with very hairy leaves are treated as a separate variety. The leaves turn yellow to orange in fall.
- Flowers
- Like all figs, the tiny flowers are hidden inside a hollow, fig-shaped structure. Male and female flowers grow on separate trees.
- Fruit
- Small round figs ripen to dark purple in fall, usually about ½–1 in (1–2.5 cm) across (about ½ in, or 10–13 mm, in Japan). They are sweet and eaten locally, but much smaller than common figs.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- coastal hillsides
- forest edges
- streamsides
- Range
- Native to Japan (from central Honshu south to Okinawa), southern South Korea (Jeju Island and the south coast), Taiwan, southern China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Assam, and the eastern Himalayas. It is not native or naturalized in the US.
- Preferred conditions
- Grows on low hills near the sea, along streams, and at the edges of evergreen broadleaf forests in warm regions.
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- Pollinated by a tiny fig wasp that breeds inside the figs of male trees and carries pollen to the figs of female trees.
Name and classification
- About the name
- A hairier-leaved form is treated as a separate variety, Beechey fig (F. erecta var. beecheyana).
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- Its genome has been sequenced so breeders can use its disease resistance in common figs.
- The bark fiber can be used to make paper, and the tree is occasionally planted as an ornamental.
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