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The Common Fig (Ficus carica) is a large shrub or small tree native to southwest Asia and the eastern Mediterranean region (Greece east to Afghanistan). It grows to a height of 3-10 m tall, with smooth grey bark. The leaves are deciduous, 12-25 cm long and 10-18 cm across, and deeply lobed with three or five lobes. The fruit is the well-known fig, 3-5 cm long, green ripening purple.
Cultivation and uses The Common Fig is widely grown for its edible fruit, grown throughout its native area, and also the rest of the Mediterranean region and other areas of the world with a similar climate, including Australia, Chile, South Africa, and California, Oregon, Texas, and Washington in the United States. The edible fig is one of the first plants that was cultivated by humans. An article in Science stated that nine fossilized figs dating to about 9400-9200 BC were found in the early Neolithic village Gilgal I in the Jordan Valley. As the figs were of the parthenocarpic type, they are of an early domestic breed. The find predates the domestication of wheat, barley and legumes, and may thus be the first known instance of agriculture. Thousands of cultivars, most unnamed, have been developed or come into existence as human migration brought the fig to many places outside its natural range. It has been an important food crop for thousands of years, and was also thought to be highly beneficial in the diet. Figs can be eaten fresh or dried, and used in jam-making. Most commercial production is as dried or otherwise processed forms, since the ripe fruit does not transport well, and once picked does not keep well. Cultural & literary aspects
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