Figs are one of the oldest cultivated fruits in the world--and also one of the oldest symbols for women's sexuality...because of their shape, texture, and seeds...because of their association with the fig leaves in the Garden of Eden. The fig began life in Asia Minor--between Eastern Turkey and North India--and has spread to most parts of the world congenial to its growth. Its remains have been found in Neolithic excavations. On ancient Egyptian papyrus dating back to 1567-1085 BCE, it speaks itself about its origins.

It's mentioned in the Bible. Greeks claimed that the Goddess Demeter gave it to them--and their athletes wore them as medals in sports contests.. Buddha gained enlightenment under a wild fig tree (though another species--the Ficus religiosa bo tree). Cato knew of 6 varietals and, 200 years later, Pliny talked about some 29. The Romans brought them to England. The Spanish carried them to the New World in the 1500s, where missionary fathers in the 1700s planted them in California from San Diego to Sonoma, creating the Mission Fig. There are four main types of fig: caprifigs, Smyrna figs, common figs, and San Pedro figs. Caprifigs don't produce fruit, just pollen. Common figs don't require pollination. But Smyrna figs depend on pollen-carrying fig wasps from caprifig trees to pollinate them. San Pedro figs produce 2 crops a year and, oddly enough, the first crop doesn't need pollination--but the second, maturing in late summer, absolutely requires pollination by the fig wasp.