Pete, yes, I had leaves of both the 5-lobed and the single-lobed types again this year. Just as last year, each type was consistent on a given limb/branch of the tree. (Not sure if they matched which branch was which from year to year... I didn't keep track of that). The "fingers" of the leaves were not as long and narrow as last year on the 5-lobed, and this year I didn't see any of the 7-lobed (or "almost-7-lobed") leaves, as I did last year. I've seen it said by others on here that Aubique Petite and Negronne (aka Violette de Bordeaux) are very very similar, with just slight differences between them. But also a bunch of smart fig people consider them the same (e.g. Pierre Baud, Ray Givan, others). I wouldn't be surprised if they are the same, but I saw differences in my specimens of each this year. (There were comments about this from Vasile and quite a few others last year in this thread: http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/doesnt-look-like-petit-negri-but-is-it-5930769?highlight=aubique ). Among those who consider them different, Aubique Petite are said to ripen later, and maybe some other slight differences (length of stems on the figs, e.g.). I have both, and both fruited for me this year. I noticed some differences (including the time to ripen). I also noticed some differences in taste between figs from my two trees (AP and VDB), though that could be from lots of other reasons, such as a 3rd-year tree (AP) vs. a 2nd-year tree (VDB), culture, etc. They were side by side though, and the AP was slower to ripen its fruit. As for any other comparisons between the two, I'll have to wait for future years when age differences and culture differences will be diminished (I'm planning to put both into 15 gallon pots next year, with same soil mix). I guess time will tell more on this saga. But regardless, whether the two trees are just different individuals of the same cultivar, or slightly different cultivars, I noticed differences between figs from the two trees for this year anyway. I liked AP better this year, whatever the cause (older tree, etc etc). I do wish I'd done a better job of photographing this year's leaves on the AP through the summer (guess I fell down on that one... "next year" :-).
Sas, it sounds like you're making the same comparison too (VDB and a possible Aubique Petite). Good luck with that new tree. (And darn those rabbits! I didn't get a lot of rabbit damage on my figs this year, but they did a number on a bunch of new rose varieties that I was starting). Whichever variety your fig tree is, it looks likely to be a good one.
Thanks again for all the comments and interest. This business of comparing types and sorting them out is a slow business, but rather interesting in many ways.
Mike central NY state, zone 5a
p.s. Pete, you remind me that I need to post pics of my Petite Negri leaves from this year, in that other thread. I took pics of it at a couple of points through the season, and I want to take some more today or tomorrow. That tree is still quite green. It's got figs on it, but not sure they'll ripen (I'm going to attempt it indoors since it looks like "the big freeze" is upon us. I'm not very optimistic that indoors will work, but there are three or four trees where I'm going to try that. They've still got nice leaves, and figs that have been on them since early August. I don't want to spend much on extensive supplemental light, but I've got room for three or four next to a south facing glass wall).
<<edit: corrected typo "e.b." to "e.g." in first paragraph >>