hmm.. i'll be at stone mountain in oct.. how far do you live from stone mountain, jason?

I hate to be the wet blanket in this party, but that fig lacks many of the characteristics of an Ischia Black (IB). It may still turn out to be a great fig, but not an IB. Here is what Condit said about IB brebas:

"crop fair; fruits medium or above, up to 2-1/4 inches long and 1-3/4 inches in diameter, oblique-pyriform, with a short, thick neck; stalk often 1/2 inch long or more somewhat swollen toward body of the fig; ribs narrow, slightly elevated; eye medium, open, scales purple; color purplish black; bloom conspicuous; meat thin, white, with a violet tinge; pulp strawberry; flavor fairly sweet and rich."

Leaves- mostly 3-lobed. Often 0 (entire).
Leaf Appearance- glossy and rugose (bumpy. what some here refer to as "Mt. Etna look")
Margins- Coarsely crenate (sawtooth)
Upper Margin width- moderate
Upper Margin depth-wide
Base- Truncate to Subcordate

Main crop:
Avg. weight- 30g
Dull surface. Fairly heavy bloom. Scattered white flecks.

"Caprified specimens similar in external characters to the uncaprified ones; pulp dark strawberry; seeds fertile, prominent. (Plate 27, C.)"

I think there are too many significant differences between the well-documented IB and this tree to dismiss as merely a horticultural or regional difference.

Well, Dennis has pictures of the UCD BI.  The leaves seem pretty different...

I will say this, though, Ischia was applied to a number of different figs, and I'd only compare with the UCD version, and not by what Condit sez.  Entire families of closely related figs were put under one name, so forth and on.  I also had idly thought that it could be something close to Early Violet because this was one of those figs that were around in the South before Celeste, but I haven't found enough pics to say one way or another.

I'd also make the contention (bringing my puerh tea judgement skillz), that very high end tasty things tastes very good in a wide range of conditions or preparation methods.  It really should taste obviously great even a couple of days unripe.  Then when you get it just right, you stagger to the knees.

Ok, turning off private messaging here at the forum.  I'm getting hammered for cuttings at this point by PM. 

Please folks, as always, if I have extra cuttings at some point, I'll offer them to the forum with a post at first-come-first-served basis.  Hold off on the PMs and emails, all cuttings are gone.  Thanks!

Shah8,

Here is a little background on Dr. Ira J. Condit as written in his monagraph "The Fig":

"Since 1935, he has been Associate Professor and Associate Subtropical Horticulturist at the University of California Citrus Experiment Station, Riverside, where his main project has been the study of fig varieties, their nomenclature and climatic adaptation, and development of new varieties by extensive fig breeding. At the invitation of the California Fig Growers he spent six months in 1923 becoming acquainted with the fig industries of Old World districts, particularly Algeria, Italy, Greece, Turkey, France, Spain and Portugal. During sabbatical leave in 1934-35 he was visiting Professor at Lingnan University, Canton, China, and also visited the Philippines, Formosa, Japan, and Hawaii."

He worked at UCD and UCR for decades.

HA!  Jason, you are the MAN!!!!!  I can't stop laughing.  Have a good one.

Yes the leaves are a little different,but the growing condition ,are different too between Georgia and California!.
It is as close as you can find a tree to be to Ischia Black.
Not only that,but the leaves are also close to Ischia green.

Ha-ha; a typical fig stampede ... Run baby, run ...

>>> Ok, turning off private messaging here at the forum. I'm getting hammered for cuttings at this point by PM.

>>> Please folks, as always, if I have extra cuttings at some point, I'll offer them to the forum with a post at first-come-first-served basis. Hold off on the PMs and emails, all cuttings are gone. Thanks!

Yes, I...know...all...that.

Read the text, and think about what's going on.  Many of his descriptions were second-hand.  There are errors.  Please don't get me wrong, I'm a fruit fanatic.  I have old books from people just like Condit, like Popenoe, Fairchild, and Morton, and they all have their issues.  You have a benchmark.  It's growing right there in UCD, and grows exactly the fig people want. You don't need the book.  You want the fig that tastes as good as that particular Black Ischia, not any accurate Black Ischia, which may well be some other fig not as delightful.

Cheez, if figs were as generally as good as these Provençal and Neapolitan varieties, I would have been much more interested in them as something other than an easy to grow fruit and would have many more trees!  But I don't, and a good reason why is the incredible confusion that surrounds varietal info, and the sheer plasticity of pheonomic expression.  If I wanted to, and I had the camera and all, I could go outside now, and pick leaves that are exactly the same as the ones in the pictures Jason uploaded.  It has entire, three, five, and seven lobes all in that tree, both of them (and Ischia is related to the Bordeaux varieties).  The breba season had fruits that look a whole lot like Barnisotte and Barbentane, and the long, droopy fruit that BLB, among others, got as brebas, are a rarity.  The two once grew differently, and now grow more or less the same.  Figs are confusing.  So once you hit close enough for government work, well, it's time to put down the book, and look at the fig.

Hey George...I'm still laughing!   But all jokes aside, it's all good when someone finds a good fig like that one Jason found.  I found one in May.  The owner gave me a truck load of cuttings for pruning her tree. Apparently, her tree was planted with her house back in the late 1800s.  Her tree fruited 2 weeks ago and is fruiting now.  It's a black fig that's very sweet.  I think her tree is Negronne or VdB but not sure.  I took some pictures of the figs and her tree.  I will start a thread with pictures but before I do, I will turn off private messaging!

Ha!  How bout those figs!!!!!!!

Ruben:The I Condit description is very much in line with the fig Jason Found and not to The actual fig,in the Germaplasm collection.
The fig in Germaplasm collection has 5 lobes well defined and a cordate base.
Jason fig is truncate and has more 3 lobes leaves.
Here is a pix of Actual Ischia Black in my garden:
So,many times taking I Condit Description as fact is like shooting in the dark!

Here is I Condit Description:
Compare it to actual UCD Tree,and then later to Jason found tree,and see for yourself!

Leaves- mostly 3-lobed. Often 0 (entire).
Leaf Appearance- glossy and rugose (bumpy. what some here refer to as "Mt. Etna look")
Margins- Coarsely crenate (sawtooth)
Upper Margin width- moderate
Upper Margin depth-wide
Base- Truncate to Subcordate

Isn't DNA testing the only way to know for sure?

Im going to make some popcorn before I continue to read this thread. Quite frankly if this tree is what some people think it is someone is going to pay for the DNA testing.

Herman,

Jason's find DOES have SOME similarities to the Condit description, but many more differences. The text in bold in post #52 is just SOME of the differences. We must always remember, when referring to Condit's descriptions, that he took his findings from mature, fruit-bearing trees and his leaf descriptions were based on a random sample of 50 leaves from fruit-bearing branches. So, yes, the tree at UCD may also have 5-lobed leaves, but was it on a fruit-bearing branch? And if so, what percentage of those leaves does it have on it's fruit-bearing branches? Apparently, it wasn't enough back in the first half of the 20th century to be considered significant by Condit.

I suggest proceding methodically (with a researcher's curiousity) and good documentation and evaluate Jason's tree objectively, not with haste. We have not even seen the main crop (which may actually be even smaller than this breba. Probably will be the same size).

Lastly, the link to you pic is not working. Thanks!

Jason I now use only 2 brands misono ux10 and kikowichi best I've used ever 

My pix is of a mature bearing tree Brother,That pix show an eight years old tree!.
How old is suppose to be ,when mature:/More than 8!
The fruit bearing branches having something to do with leaf shape that is a mith and doesn't hold water.
The most important leaf details is the number of lobes,and the base,of leaf shape,and in this regard Jason fig is closer to I Condit description,than my eight years old mature enough Ischia Black from UC D Germaplasm.

With all the excitement going on, still don't have a story yet. Who planted it, where it came from, has it been in the family and possibly in other parts of the country.

I wanted to send you a pm, but knew you were going to get nailed to the cross. Shooting for 5 years, by then maybe enough will be propagated to get a cutting or small plant.

We are all like kids in a candy store, drolling over your find. HIP  HIP  HOORAY!!


luke

After two failed visits to reach the homeowner, I'm sending postal mail.  It'll be there by Wednesday, I'll wait for a call.  People are more prone to open mail from a stranger than to open a door with a stranger in the area the tree is located.

Stay tuned.

I still prefer good old German steel. Take care of it and it will cut by itself.

I'll be in Stone Mountain on Oct.19-20. That's for sure. But squeezing time out of it... I'll have to figure out how to do it. If I get lucky, I might have afternoon off on 20th before I drive back up to NC.

Maybe it's a related variety from Ischia as well?  I am guessing in the island there are sibling trees no doubt?

Hey Jason,

I have a velvet ninja suit I can let you borrow.
It's been passed on from one fig legend to another.

One size fits all, last one had it was Cecil. So you might need a bungie cord to hold your pants up.

Herman,

Again, the link is not working. Thanks!

EDIT: I see it now. There is a hyperlink in the message that does not work. As for the tree pictured, it looks very different from Jason's. It is 8 years old you say? It's obviously struggling with FMV. Can't say it's a great specimen for comparison though. A close-up might help. Though it's unlikely that UCD mixed up the cuttings, it is a possibility (by their own admission). Let's just keep an open mind.

New pixies,of UCD Ischia Black ,and yes the fruits are identical and the dominant leaf shape is very similar,5 lobes,and not three lobes or entire as described by Ira Condit!.
Let the pixies do the talk.
Just like Jason Find!
Pix 4 and 5,Ischia Black fruit,in my garden,and UC Davis pix of fruit and leaf.
You can see that I have the right specimen and the dominant leaf.
And that dominant mature leaf has 5 lobes,and not like I Condit describe it as Three lobes or entire!.