Mission figs were introduced to the US in 1768 and became the most common fig in California until they were overtaken by Calimyrna. They produce fruit year-round and are suitable for commercial growth. They are smaller and more elongated than other figs, with a purplish color when ripe. They can be eaten fresh or dried and are often made into jam.
Mission figs are a type of common fruit of the fig tree, Ficus carica, that was introduced to the United States in 1768. Alternatively known as black mission figs or franciscanas, they were brought to the San Diego, California area from the Mediterranean region , where native to the Spanish Balearic Islands, and then planted north along the California coast by Franciscan missionaries establishing settlements there. They later became the most common type of fig grown and sold in California, although they were eventually overtaken by the Calimyrna variety, which originated in Turkey and was introduced to California’s San Joaquin Valley in 1882.
Belonging to the Moricae family and the Ficus genus, mission figs are a specific cultivar of the Carica species, the common edible figs. There are many varieties of the common fig, best grown in dry, hot climates in places like California and Texas in the United States, or in Mexico and throughout Latin America. They also thrive near the Mediterranean Sea in Europe in countries such as Italy, France and Spain and throughout Western Asia.
The fruit ranges from golden brown to green to black and can be pink, red or amber inside. The trees tend to proliferate very rapidly and produce two crop cycles: the breba crop and the main crop. Breba is the early crop cycle, occurring in spring and producing lower quality fruit, while the main crop arrives in autumn.
In the United States, where they are popular as a commercial variety of fig, Mission figs produce both a large breba crop and a medium-sized main crop. Mission figs, however, can be considered everlasting, meaning they produce fruit virtually year-round and can grow quite large. These trees do best in climate hardiness zones 9 and higher and are sensitive to frost, but thrive in a variety of conditions, making them suitable for commercial growth.
Mission figs remain the most popular type of black fig grown in California and are purplish in color when ripe. Pear-like in shape, they are smaller and slightly more elongated across the neck with a flat bottom. Inside, the fruit is a light strawberry color and is considered a high quality variety to eat. They can be eaten fresh or dried, but if eaten fresh they should be refrigerated immediately and eaten within a few days. Mission figs are also commonly frozen or made into jam, a popular offering at American farmers’ markets.
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