I bought a Celeste fig from a retailer last fall and I just got my first ripe figs from the tree today. I wondered if anyone could look at these and tell me if they were true to the Celeste form? I ask because I bought a Black Mission from the same retailer and it looks very similar to the Celeste. My neighbors have a Black Mission from a different nursery and it looks completely different.

Looks like a celeste to me.

Congrats on your fig. I wish I could help with ID but what ever it is it sure does look good

Loslunasfarms, thanks for the confirmation. I'll try to post some pics of the black mission fig when I get another fruit. I'm afraid the lone fig it produced has already been consumed.

2007_giants, thanks anyway!

It doesn't look like Celeste to me.
The neck is too fat to be Celeste,the color too purple,and the interior too red.
I have a good Ideea how Celeste should look and yours do not.
Sorry I have to differ with the first poster.
It doesn't mean anything bad,it might turn out to be Better than a Celeste cultivar wich usually drops half of figs before getting ripe when young,but,this is my honest opinion,that it is not Celeste.

I agree with Herman (It is Not a Celeste).

My quick 2nd guess is that it some HC (Sicilian/MT Etna) fruit type;
though the single leaf shape shown may be (non-typical) different?

the leaf looks like a celeste, and the fruit size i can't tell, it looks small, but you give no reference.

the skin color is much darker than our celeste in GA (ours are more tan), there is no void inside the fruit, and the insides are darker red (our celestes are more brownish-pink)

Find pics of a typical Celeste fig in GA, along with some trees at these links:

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=41152572&postcount=13

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=41063491&postcount=12

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=40618448&postcount=6

Definitely doesn't look like any of the 20+Celestes I have in San Diego.

Here's what it should look like here:

Jon, have you ever seen Celese like the ones in my first two links that are more elongated?  the ones you posted look most like my final link, which admittedly, the ones i shot were probably under-ripe and yours were perfectly ripe.  i wash all of mine before shooting, so they don't have that dusty look.

Jason, See the Varieties at Figs 4 Fun. There are pix of more than a dozen Celeste "variants" that I have. Some are short and round, some long and almost teardrop shaped. They vary from tree to tree (each tree has a somewhat predominant shape) and on each tree through the season, and there are some variations in coloration: some are somewhat browner, and some are somewhat more pinkish (not pink). All will generally have the silver blush and a purple/pink under color. Most will have the brown blushed bottom, the "spots" on the sides (these have few, some have many), and generally crack when ripe. Despite their wide variation, they are still quite easy to distinguish from anything else I grow.

I agree, they are not bad, and maybe I have simply not left them long enough (or the birds, squirrels and
humans haven't let me!) to not taste one that is jammy and ripe, it seems all of the Celeste figs I've had on the
half a dozen trees I've picked from in the last several weeks are ... I don't know how to explain it, they all
taste almost exactly the same, the only way I can describe the characteristic is that the sweetness
is "thin".  Whereas the unknown I posted pics of today had sweetness that was thick like "honey syrup" if it
existed, the Celeste seems much more muted, a diluted sweetness, although it isn't an exceptionally watery/juicy fig.

Well I appreciate everyone taking a look at these. I'm not sure what to make of them. This tree is small, maybe 2 ft tall, and the taste of the figs is rather thin. Should I let them hang on the tree longer? Most of these fall off my hand when touched. I can also post pics of the figs on the tree if that helps.

Sometimes you have to experiment a little. What you think is ripe may not really be ripe, even if it "looks" ripe. Repeating myself, some need to be really ugly before they are ripe. Celestes can be quite wrinkled, cracked and shriveled before they are at their peak. You have to let some of your figs get "over-ripe" looking to be able to know what is the correct "look" for that variety. If you don't experiment a little, you may miss out on some truly wonderful figs because you picked them at the wrong time.

Jon just nailed it. I had a post showing same fig at different stages of ripe. Like I said we all have our preference in taste but full flavor will only be when truly mature and ripe. You will find different varieties show different signs.It will not be long before you figure it out, just let the next one sit a few days longer and do not taste with you eyes 

So, after years of all Celestes looking relatively similar, the first one this year looks like this:



Go figure.

Here is a picture of the tree and another shot of figs at different stages. 

Again :It is not Celeste and far from it!

Herman2 , understood. Any idea what it could be? 

BTW, for what it is worth I searched through my old email and found that this tree is from Willis Orchard. I've dispatched an email to them to see what the deal is. 

i thought i already said this, but i thought it was hardy chicago.  http://figs4fun.com/Thumbnail_Hardy_Chicago.html

Satellitehead, thanks for weighing in! I must have somehow missed that you thought it was a Hardy Chicago. It does resemble that. This makes me wonder if anything that Willis is selling is what they say it is.

Well, it's just a guess,  I didn't look at their offerings until just now.  Willis is supposedly not as bad as TyTy, but ... meh.

My opinion is much lesser than so many others around here.  All I can tell you is what I've seen, which is a fraction. 

Satellitehead, Thanks for all of the helpful information.  I suspect Willis is not labeling true to the accepted names of figs or they were misinformed. Willis did respond to my email and stated they had sent me the wrong trees. They have indicated they will be sending Celeste trees, or what they call Celeste, in October. They also indicated that the trees they shipped me appear to be Brown Turkey type figs. At least Willis is being responsive and they are trying to rectify the situation. That is commendable and kudos to them. This is miles better than what I have read about TyTy.

Brown Turkey MD?  http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=2604282

I doubt it, but it's a funny thought.

That looks like a damned tasty fig, though, I'd be happy.