Not sure if there is any differences, they both ripened the same week and both were left unprotected in ground last winter, both taste and look similar. 
They are excellent tasting.
What do you think?

Here's Celeste JR



Blue Celeste

Does Jon have a report on the DNA of these two? 

With both being Celeste their should be some common factors that both would share anyhow. But to be the exact same they should not, unless they are the same... 


Chris

Thank you for posting this, this is exactly what I need to see! I have room for one Celeste fig, and am having a tough time deciding which one. Do they seem to have the same vigor/productivity?

Edit: something else funny: JR says he has never had a Celeste that was bluish in color.

All of the Celestes that were tested at USDA / UC Davis were the same by DNA.

There were about a dozen and a half samples (Celeste and Blue Celeste), which included a 2 or 3 that were labeled as Celeste but were something else (which provided some "control" in the testing). But well over a dozen that were "genuine" and all the same by DNA. The original plan was to test the DNA and match the variations in color, size, taste, etc. to the variations in DNA. There were no variations evident from the DNA tests, but there continues to be quite a variability in the actual fruit, and their leaves.

Bass's Celestes are not real similar to mine, but I have seen some that were close to his, on my trees, at times, and have no doubt that his are really Celeste. The colors vary quite a bit from very red, to light pink, to something I can only call red-gray. Some are juicier, and some are drier and more concentrated. Some are larger, some smaller, some long necked, tear-drop shaped, round, short necked, etc.

Jon,

This is information that really calls to my attention. If the DNA is the same than the environment seems to be the driving force to flavor and not the particular strain. 

With this the flavor profiles could be altered regionally and within a single orchard. Has any University taken this route in the past?


Chris

Bass, They look the same to me and from what Jon is saying if they are in fact different strains the difference is very minimal or none at all if dna is identical. I also wonder what effects regional differences have on the different varieties we grow. I'm pretty sure though that the particular variety and it's atributes are more critical to taste than environmental differences. 

I suppose it is time to pull back the curtain. Identifying a plant by DNA does NOT mean that they have matched every single molecule in the DNA. There are "protocols" for how and how much to test to determine "sameness". The same thi9ng applies to criminal forensics - they to not sequence the entire DNA in a sample to determine that two samples match. So there is still the possibility that they are not absolutely identical, and the differences outside the limits of the testing may be more significant than the designers of the tests realized or suspected. I am still looking for someone who can explain the testing protocols in layman's terms, how they know that what they tested is sufficient, and what the significance of the untested portions might truly be.

As we learn more about DNA and how is functions, we learn that genes are turned on and off by other factors (other genes or ?) so that just having a gene doesn't always mean that it is "used". It isn't as tidy as it was when I had biology 40 years ago.

Barry, 
you are correct, they're very similar, the Blue Celeste is bearing larger figs... but again these vary from time to time. 

Jon,
You are correct, per the conversation I had with Malli from Wolfskill he did explain how the DNA sampling works with figs. 

Give me a Celeste that does not drop,the first part of the main crop,and I will love it ,and will be  my preferred fig.
So far all regular Celeste dropped first part of main harvest,but at this point I have a young plant i made up from Cecil tree,that had thousand of ripe figs last year and this year,and will see if it drops here.
If it does,then it is the climate and not Celeste cultivar but if it keeps all fruits,then all these other cultivars that drop are nothing but inferior hybrids of the original Celeste selection.
Time will tell.
For now my base Celeste fig is Malta Black and Improved Celeste(non  Rourke)

Herman,

It would be interesting to determine what is the cause of fruit drop is for Celeste. It is often reported as an issue, but it apparently is cultural/climatological because that is not an observed phenomenon on any of may Celeste variants.

Jon, Bass....figs are weird but special fruit!  Last year, my Blue Celeste figs were dark blue but shaped just like Celeste.  And the same this year, but the bird seem to like them better than the red ones on  my plain Celeste trees.  However, I got 4 Celeste from Mr Robin in March of this year.  Both my Celeste and JR's Celeste fruit the same time but the fruit on his tree is larger.   They are shaped like th number6. 

Bass the Blue Celeste I got from you last year look identical to my in ground Celeste. But the Blue Celeste I got from VS has different color figs. They have a more bluish than red color.  I think climate, humidity, soil and ferilizer has a lot to do with the production of a fig.  Strange life these figs have!