Fig Varieties: A Monograph - uri=ucce.ucdavis

438 Hilgardia
[Vol. 23, No. 11
erroneous. We can no more lay exclusive claim to this fig than can Mexico and Chile. It
was undoubtedly brought from Spain or Portugal at a very early date after the
conquest.”
About 1909, Eisen identified the “Mission” as Franciscana, of Spain, but the exact
reference to his publication has not been located. In 1925, Condit wrote, after personal
observations in Spain: “The Franciscana is a black fig commonly grown at Estepona,
over sixty miles below Málaga, on the coast. Dried figs of this variety seen at Motril
appeared to be identical to the California Mission.” It seems to be the same variety that
Escribano y Perez described in 1884 as Higuera Negra, of Murcia Province, where it was
much esteemed both for fresh fruit and for drying. The following two introductions
from Málaga into California have proved to be identical with the Franciscana: P.I. No.
58,664 as Negra, and P.I. No. 62,777 as Brebal.
Three varieties imported from England with the Chiswick collection, P.I. No. 18,875
as Biberaeo, No. 18,896 as Gouraud Noir, and No. 18,868 as Reculver, also produce fruit
like that of the Franciscana. The first two are described by Eisen as distinct varieties, but
the characters listed by him coincide almost exactly with those of the Franciscana.
According to E. A. Bunyard (1925), the name Reculver comes from Reculver, Kent,
England, where this fig was introduced by the Romans. Dean, in 1904, described
Reculver as a prolific fig tree with small, purple fruits.
Another introduction of the Chiswick collection, P.I. No. 18,867, labeled Douro
Vebra, bore fruit very similar to the Franciscana. According to Barron (1891), Douro
Vebra is the same as Biberaeo. In the original notebook of John Rock, Niles, dated
1895, there are outline drawings and notes of California Black, Biberaeo, and Reculver.
Under the short description of Reculver there appears this line in the handwriting of
Gustav Eisen: “Leaves mottled, as on Mission.” This unpublished note, we might point
out here, is probably the first observation made on the occurrence of a leaf mosaic on
the fig in California.
Although it appears strange that Eisen should not have considered the above three
kinds to be the same as Franciscana, they are being treated here as identical with that
variety.
The Franciscana fig has long been grown in the eastern and southern United States.
Trees have been observed on the original Arlington estate of the Custis family near
Cape Charles, Virginia, and on a neighboring farm; also at the Virginia Truck
Experiment Station, Norfolk, and at the Hampton Institute. The probable reasons for
the lack in popularity of the variety in these districts are the susceptibility of trees to
frost damage, and their light productivity. W. S. Anderson reported in 1924 that in
south Mississippi, “the Black Mission was injured more than any other variety by the
cold, and produced very few fruits.” On the other hand, the fruit was of the highest
quality, “standing up better when left on the tree during the rainy season than any
other variety in the test.” Woodard (1940) showed that in Georgia, the Mission was
much inferior to Celeste in fruit production. Wythes (1902) reported Gouraud Noir, or
Dr. Hogg’s black fig, to be a fine flavored fruit, and excellent for pot culture in England.
Franciscana trees are widely distributed in California, both as individual trees