Fig Varieties: A Monograph - uri=ucce.ucdavis

February, 1955] Condit: Fig Varieties
451
with ribs darker; pulp hollow, light rose in color; quality very good.
Mentonasca (syn. Mentone). Described by Sauvaigo (1889) and Eisen (1901) as a
variety grown near Mentone and Nice, producing figs above medium in size, pyriform;
skin thin, dark violet in color pulp red.
Merengiana (syns. Marangiano, Melanciano, Melanzana, Parmigiano, Dottato Nero
or Rosso, Ficus carica melitensis Risso). Described by Risso (1826), Sauvaigo (1889),
Eisen (1901), Guglielmi (1908), Vallese (1909, with illustrations of leaves and fruit), and
De Rosa (1911). F. carica melitensis, or Figue de Malta, described by Risso, was
recorded by Sauvaigo as Merengiano. The name Melanciano implies “black,” while
Melanzana suggests resemblance of the color of this fig to that of an eggplant.
According to Vallese, this variety is known in some districts as Dottato Rosso.
Merengiana is grown to a limited extent only in southern Italy, while in France it is
found along the Riviera. A variety grown by Italian residents of Washington, D.C., and
called by them Eggplant or Melanzana, has fruited at Riverside, California, and proved
to be the same as Franciscana.
Leaves of the tree are generally 3-lobed. Description of fruit is after that of Vallese.
Breba crop borne only in favorable years; fruit large, obconical, with rounded apex;
color green, tinged with purple on exposed side; pulp pale rose, sweet.
Second-crop figs oblate-spherical (as shown in fig. 75 of Vallese); stalk short; color
violet; bloom pruinose; skin readily peeled from meat; pulp light red; flavor sweet,
pleasing. Consumed fresh; not much adapted to drying, as it is subject to spoilage in
some seasons.
Merioun (syns. Fico Fetifero, Fico dall’Osso, Ficus carica nucleata Risso). Described
by Gallesio (1817), Risso (1826), Sauvaigo (1889), Eisen (1901), and Simonet et al. (1945).
This variety was described by Gallesio as Fico Fetifero, or “fetus-bearing fig,” because
the body of many of the fruits bore at the apex a crumpled and irregular second fruit,
with scales at the base. In Piedmont it was known as Fico dall’Osso, “bony fig,” on
account of the hardness of the secondary fig, analogous to nut fruits, commonly called
“fruit stones.” This monstrosity is similar to the fruit of Caprificus gigantea (Grande),
illustrated by Gasparrini in 1845, and to some of the teratological forms of figs discussed
by Penzig (1922). According to Eisen, Tapa Cartin (Grosse Jaune) develops a similar
monstrosity at the apex of the fruit. Gallesio reported that in spite of its malformed
fruit, Merioun vied with other varieties in Piedmont, and was found along the slopes of
the coastal Alps, especially at Saluzzo. Eisen, on the other hand, stated that it is a
curious but not a valuable fig, and is rare in Provence.
The tree bears two crops. Description of fruit follows that of Eisen.
Brebas up to 3 inches in diameter, bell-shaped, flattened at the apex, some fruits
contracted at the middle; upper part violet, lower part greenish yellow; pulp red, sweet,
agreeable, but dry and hard around the eye.
Second-crop figs smaller, but similar in most characters.
Merlinga. Described briefly by Sauvaigo (1889), Eisen (1901), and Simonet et al.
(1945), as grown near Nice. Figs generally borne in pairs, below medium, turbinate,