Fig varieties: a monograph

Caprifigs are characterized by the presence inside the syconium of shortstyled pistillate flowers, the ovaries of which may be inhabited by the larvae of the fig insect, Blastophaga psenes Cav. In one or more crops, staminate flowers which produce pollen may be present. Three crops of a caprifig tree are generally recognized and, as Eisen (1896) predicted, their Italian names have 'become household words in various fig-growing countries. These names are: Mamme, the first or winter crop, maturing in California in early April; profichi, the second or spring crop, maturing in June; and mammoni, the third crop, maturing in late summer. Further details about these names and crops may be found in numerous publications, among which are the following: