Fig Varieties: A Monograph - uri=ucce.ucdavis

468 Hilgardia
[Vol. 23, No. 11
and Delbard. Illustrations in black and white by Gallesio, Semmola, Hogg (1869), Eisen
(1901), Starnes and Monroe, Vallese, Condit (1921b, 1933), E. A. Bunyard (1934),
Tamaro, and Baldini.
The history and identity of San Piero have been reviewed by Condit (1944); from this
account we glean the following notes. According to Gallesio, this variety has been
commonly grown in Italy, southern France, and in Spain. It appeared in England about
1866 under the name Negro Largo; Mr. Fleming at Cliveden received it from France,
and it was later distributed by the firm of Veitch and Sons, Chelsea. The identity of
Negro Largo with San Piero was confirmed by E. A. Bunyard (1934), who agreed with
Hogg that it was known in France as Noire de Languedoc. The description of San
Pietro or Mecklingea by Glady (1883) conforms more with San Piero than with San
Pietro. In Japan, San Piero is grown under the name Masui Dauphine. San Piero trees
have been found in the eastern United States at the following places: Saxis, Hampton
Institute, and Diamond Springs, Virginia; and Accomac and Crisfield, Maryland. At
Crisfield, San Piero is being grown commercially.
The date of first introduction of San Piero into California is not known with certainty.
John Rock of Niles received Negro Largo from England in 1883; he obtained “Aubique
Leroy” from France in 1889—the last part of the name was probably a
misinterpretation of Noire. San Piero cuttings were distributed by the United States
Department of Agriculture, according to Van Deman (1890), although no localities were
listed as recipients. The Chiswick collection from England included the following: P.I.
No. 18,872, as Large Black Douro; No. 18,882, as Black Douro; No. 18,889, as Negro
Largo; and No. 18,905 as Warren’s Brown Turkey. All of these were probably identical
with San Piero. Cuttings received in 1924 from Málaga, Spain, as P.I. No. 58,665, labeled
Pacuecas, proved to be the same as San Piero. P.I. No. 93,277, introduced in 1931 from
England as Negro Largo, is different from San Piero, and its true identity has not been
established. In its catalogue for 1890-1891, the California Nursery Company, Niles,
listed Negro Largo as a new variety. The California Experiment Stations tested this
variety between 1891 and 1903 under the names Negro Largo and Black Genoa. For
reasons not now apparent, the name Negro Largo was dropped, and Black San Pedro
was substituted for it.
A variety known as Black Douro or Black Portugal has long been grown in
California, and it has proved to be identical with San Piero. The name indicates that it
might have been secured from their homeland by some Portuguese residents of the
San Francisco Bay region, as suggested by Eisen (1901, p.264). To add still further to the
confusion, this variety is designated by some as Brunswick! Commission merchants in
Los Angeles market the large, fresh figs of San Piero as Brunswick, although most
growers call them Brown Turkey or Black San Pedro. The Thompson, or Thompson
Improved Brown Turkey, is identical with San Piero. The same is true of Granata,
grown by B. R. Amend, Portland, Oregon. The following account is based on trees in
production at Riverside since 1930.
Trees are vigorous, precocious, very productive, often somewhat dwarfed by heavy
crops; terminal buds violet-brown. Leaves medium to large, some- what glossy above,