It's funny that when you haven't been bit by the "fig virus" you don't notice somethings that are obvious to the fig enthusiast.

I inherited a few fig trees (40 years + trees) that to me seemed identical. Even the figs they produce where, apparently, similar.

When i started collecting figs i used one of these "repeated" old trees as a grafting source. I did an agressive pruning and grafted several new varieties on the remaining branches while removing all the suckers that sprouted so they couldn't compete with my new grafts.

One of these suckers was left untouched and has a few figs, so i left it alone.

This week i collected some mature figs from this sucker and was able to compare them to my Preto de Torres Novas. To my surprise they are not identical. I always thought they where the same fig, minus some small differences, mainly in size, that i thought were caused by location, soil or other factors. But the flavor and overall interiors of both figs are quite different. Even the leaves are different - which now is clearly obvious but i had never noticed.

So this is a different variety that i am naming Preto de Torres Novas 2 because of the exterior similarity.

Some photos of the "old" Preto de Torres Novas.The last photos are from some still unripe figs this year, but the flavor is still very good. 
The first photos are from last year's crop. If we don't use a net the birds eat all the ripe figs leaving none!And this year the net is still not in use so i can't find a single ripe fig that isn't almost fully eaten.
This fig is very good with a very complex flavor, even when still not quite ripe. When fully matured is excellent, with some seed crunch and hints of cinnamon from the skin and others subtle flavors i can't pinpoint.

None of these figs needs the wasp and none was pollinated. The seeds are not viable, they all float.

This is the Preto de Torres Novas 2. It's a bigger fig with a darker interior with some violet hues. The flavor is different, somewhat less intense, no cinnamon flavor but with something else i can't exactly define.
When you eat it first, it can stand by itself in the top spots. If you eat it after Preto de Torres Novas 1 it lacks something - mainly the cinnamon touch that gives that extra punch to this wonderful fig. 

In both figs the skin is thin and edible and contributes with additional flavor especially when fully ripe.

Some photos with a comparaison with some Preto de Torres Novas 1 - these were not fully ripe:

Jaimie,
I tried to root this fig this year, but didn't have any success. I was told that it was more
popular dried than fresh. Do you also dry yours. Thanks for the great pics.

Ray 

Yes i do, Ray. It's a very good producer and so people tend to dry it so they can eat it in the winter.

I'm sorry you didn't had success in rooting it. I send some cuttings to a few friends and they all seemed to root it without problems.

Here's some of these figs drying in a sun dryer i built, along with some Moscatel Branco. These are all from that single tree in the photos of the first message.

That is a really nice drying set up. I am going to build something like that to dry my figs in.What is the weather like you are drying them in?

The temperatures are usually mild in September when most of these figs are dried with 24-26 ºC as the highest values. Sometimes there's even lots of rainy days, so i have to build it so that water can't enter inside.

I also tend to place the dryer strategically in a sheltered corner that receives lots of sun so the inside temperatures are much higher (due to the black plastic in the bottom). 

Jaime TS1 and TS2 at first from your photos look different since TS1 shows mainly 3 lobed leafs but after seeing mine has 4 lobed leafs (TS1) they could be the same.

maybe they are planted in different locations and thus the taste difference?

These are leafs of your Torres Novas which rooted fine, maybe ill enjoy it even in its first season:

 

Both are beautiful figs... Great discovery to realize that you have 2 figs as family heirlooms rather than 1...

That one tree produced a lot of figs.

Elin,

I also thought they were the same fig until recently. That's the main reason i grafted most of the second tree limbs with other varieties. But they are only 50 meters away in the same type of soil and conditions and the figs are consistently different in size (they also have a long foot) and in flavour.

It's quite interesting that the cuttings i sent you show only those 5? lobed leaves. They are quite rare in the mature tree that has mainly 1 and 3 lobed leaves. Fig trees keep surprising us.

Thanks for the comment, Tony. The first strain (Torres novas 1) is my best tasting fig until now.

tinyfish, Last year i used a net over the tree, so all the crop was available. This year i used a bird scarer (hawk silhouette) and it worked. Only a few figs were eaten, probably due to some very still days and the scarer just stood still without wind, so some black birds were brave enough to eat a couple of figs.

Jaime,
Nice figs! they look delicious.
Think these two blacks,   TN's - 1 and 2 - will make history some day !
am volunteer to graft a pair of scions on a local wild and see what comes up here in this rather hot and dry environment.
Francisco

Hi Francisco,

I will send you a few cuttings of both so you can try them over there. I am also curious to see how pollination will affect these figs.