does this mean figs aren't vegan?!

HAHAHAHAHA! brilliant, actor'sdiet

Ha I said it the last time ya'll posted about figs but after I read that a few months back, I just can't look at figs the same way. Especially when the seeds go crunch!

Yikes. As a fig lover, this falls firmly in the category of things I wish I didn't know. It makes me simultaneously sad and grossed out.

There was a whole Nature episode on the fig tree / wasp relationship a few years ago.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/the-queen-of-trees/introduction/1362/

I love that nature is so awesome and clever. What a weird relationship indeed.

I'm eating figs (and wasps) as I read this. Mmmm... delicious

Oh my. I was eating gazpacho for lunch, figs for dessert. Took a healthy bite of the fig as I clicked on this story. Hmmm. Still tastes yummy, but the Jains would spank.

www.hushsupperclub.net

I had to do some sleuthing because I simply HAD to know if I was eating wasps with my delicious figs...turns out, commercially produced fresh figs are from a variety that do not need pollination to produce fruit, thus no wasps involved. Dried figs on the other hand are usually from varieties that DO need pollination.

Quite interesting! I never knew this about figs. I'll never quite feel the same about that yummy crunch that comes from eating dried figs, though it certainly won't deter me!

ew

I find this so fascinating and horrifying. Nature's a doozy

I love figs and was hoping to plant a fig tree in my yard. But would doing so attract wasps?

This article is quite vague as to the type of figs that use wasp pollination. A little clarification via wikipedia:

There are basically three varieties of common figs:
Caducous (or Smyrna) figs require pollination by the fig wasp and caprifigs to develop crops. Some cultivars are Calimyrna, Marabout, and Zidi.

Persistent (or Common) figs do not need pollination; fruit develop through parthenocarpic means. This is the variety of fig most commonly grown by home gardeners. Adriatic, Black Mission, Brown Turkey, Brunswick, and Celeste are some representative cultivars.

Intermediate (or San Pedro) figs do not need pollination to set the breva crop, but do need pollination, at least in some regions, for the main crop. Examples are Lampeira, King, and San Pedro.

Thank you for the clarifications about commercially produced varieties of figs. I have some ripe figs in the fridge and had been so grossed out by the (yes, vague) article that I almost threw them out!

Eeergghh! But those green figs I ate warm off the tree in France a few years ago are still some of the tastiest things I've ever had. Should a vegetarian eat a carnivorous fruit? Dunno. As for the clarification above, helpful in theory but how will I know the difference next time I'm in France?!

@tasterspoon: we have a common-fig tree in our back yard that's been there for 30+ years (probably a brown-turkey-fig tree, but it's hard for me to tell). the tree does not attract wasps... some ants (and flies once the fruit drops), but nothing that stings or crawls up into anything and dies. it can also be a raccoon magnet. the dropping fruit can be a problem if you're not harvesting everything fast enough, but otherwise, it's been an easy tree to tend to. ours is large for a fruit tree -- 20 feet with an equal spread, so give it some space to stretch. the previous owners planted this one a bit too close to the house and we've had to do some pretty aggressive trimming. good luck.

Euuuuuuwww.

I just bought some georgeous looking figs and now I'm wondering if I can eat them after all.

Good thing commercially grown figs are exempt, otherwise I would not be eager to try my new Roasted Figs with Goat Cheese recipe...

: )

You know, I first read a description of this phenomenon in "Under the Tuscan Sun." I could tell the author thought it beautiful and poetic that the little creatures died in there for her (future) sensual pleasure; she used her purplest language to describe it at considerable length. This reader, on the other hand, was completely grossed out and decided never to eat another fig.

What's to be grossed out about here? There is no wasp corpse inside the fig. The fruit digested the wasp--the body's nutrients were processed and transformed into the fruit your eating. Just as nutrients from the ground help vegetables to grow, but you're not eating dirt.

Wait a second, is it the FRUIT or the fig FLOWER that digests the wasp? I find it improbable that the fruit itself is responsible. There are a variety of carniverous plants in the world, but as far as I know, it's the flower and not the fruit that does the deed.

For the most part the relationship is symbiotic, not carnivorous. And the "fruit" is actually an inverted flower. I don't understand why people can't read.

I've known this before, but while reading this article, I was able to find a different perspective: I dislike wasps, and eating their digested remains is a perfect way to show all those living wasps the extent of my anti-wasp attitude! "Try to sting me, will you!? Well then I'll just have a few...little... figs... muahahahaha!!"

Hate to point out the obvious but for people who are getting grossed out: if you eat any kind of packaged/processed food in the U.S., you are eating a certain amount of insect parts that the FDA/USDA deem "acceptable" in low numbers. Also, many food use insect extracts for coloring (cochineal extract, carmine) that are not labeled when coming from insects, so you are likely already eating insect by-products each year. On the bright side, insects are good sources of protein and eaten by a wide variety of cultures--and the human body is designed to digest a wide variety of "food," including insects.

wait, so would this mean that figs have a high-ish protein content??

NOTE: domestically-grown figs do not mature in this way. Only those in the wild. You are all safe if you buy figs in the grocery store.

agh!!! I have dried figs. Really wish I hadn't read this!

I wish I didn't know this. Now I can't unsee it. We had a fig tree in my childhood and I have so many fond memories of munching on figs straight from the tree. Now I don't want to eat another fig again...

Theres a fig tree in my backyard and I have never seen wasps anywhere near it. In fact we have two types of fig trees, black and white. Also where I work they have a huge fig tree, never seen any wasps there either.

Now I wonder what kind of fig tree we had growing up. It definitely did attract wasps (and getting rid of the wasps nest one year resulted in much less fruit).

Nature is amazing

Oh, how I wish I could unread that!

never eating a fig again.

We have a brown turkey fig (we think anyway, it came with the house) and it certainly does attract wasps. Maybe it's dependent on the type of fig you have *and* the types of local wasps.

I did some further googling and apparently each species of fig that has this symbiotic relationship has their own species of wasp to work with, no symbiotic fig has more than one species of wasp to work with and no two different species of figs use the same species of wasp (so Afig + Awasp, Bfig + Bwasp, etc). Plus, these figs can still produce sterile fruit (tastes good, but you can't plant it to grow a new tree) even when their paired wasp species is not around. So, you may not be eating nutrients from a wasp via a fig if it's from a tree being grown outside of it's natural mutualization zone. Aspiring Jainists, you might be okay. :)

I'm looking forward to my figs ripening this summer .... the leaves on the tree are coming out now and soon I'll see those little green figlets popping out!