Do Common Figs Go "Wild" (or feral?) in California?

[Badwater]

So I was driving around the gold rush town of Coloma earlier today, which is very near my house, and I noticed there were a ton of fig trees all over the place. Some were big trees that had been planted and taken care of, but some were small (obviously young) and in out of the way places (obviously not planted on purpose). Are the fig trees going "wild" and reproducing from seed out here? I tried one of the figs from one of the "volunteers" and it was good, if not amazing (like a slightly watered down black mission, which I imagine make up the majority of the deliberately planted parent trees in the area). Assuming they are reproducing from seed, how faithfully do new trees inherit the characteristics of their parents? I'm wondering if it's worth it to go on an expedition to try and find something new, or if I can just expect a bunch of Black Mission clones. For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure we don't have the wasp this far away from the Valley.

[Sunkissed Mermaid]

I just visited Coloma today and was shocked at how many figs were growing all over town. Its mid-September and there were so many Mission figs starting to ripen. I couldn't help but try some, and they were delicious! I read that the tree by the bridge was planted there during the Gold Rush; makes the tree over a century and a half old. I couldn't help but wonder the same thing you're asking about. Will seedlings taste and grow just like their parents? Is it worth it to hike the local trails to search for other fig trees.

[mwhight34]

Seedlings have a very very very small chance of having the same characteristics as the parents. That’s why figs are mostly propagated by cuttings and airlayers.

[Slingfox]

Apparently the chances of small of the seedlings being equal to or better than the parent but new varieties come from those willing to navigate this lottery ticket process. Even if you do not have the wasp in your area, birds from wasp country could pass through your area as they migrate.

[Foodtreefield]

Yes figs are growing wild there and many other areas in California. So much so that it is listed as an invasive non-native species by some counties. Chances of finding a superior new fig are indeed small but maybe a bit better odds than the lottery because many of the wild trees are direct descendants of cultivated trees. In my area they are plentiful in the flood channels and could help choke water flow contributing to flood events. And virtually all of them are inedible.

[Bluemalibu]

Chances of finding a superior new fig are indeed small but maybe a bit better odds than the lottery...

Indeed.


Two thoughts instantly come to mind... First, except for the few purposely-bred varieties that we are currently cultivating, remember that every other cultivar was once a wild fig. So, there have been over 3,000 wild figs have been thought by someone as to rate high enough as to be worthy of attaching a name to it, and to cultivate it.

And secondly, in my experience, I have found that I will usually go through well over a hundred wild trees, before I find a tree baring figs that I think would be worth the time and the effort needed to propagate copies of it. So, let's say our chances are maybe one in a hundred, vs. one chance in millions on the lottery. But, those diamonds are indeed out there... as a case in point, we trialed somewhere around 60 varieties of figs at the two get-togethers held here in California over the last three weeks. And at both of these events, an unassuming wild fig, the Meteorito, was judged by most in attendance to be one of the top figs for taste. So, you just never know...

[greenfig]

Yes!

[Quadraticequation]

If the seeds are from common figs, could the offspring turn out to be Capri fogs, Smyrna or Sam Pedro figs?

[Richard]

Yes, and more likely so unless the other parent happens to be a persistent Caprifig.

[bella_ figura]

Common trees don't go wild however if they are pollinated and the figs they produce drop to the ground or are eaten by birds and redistributed,what grows from those seeds are considered wild.