I'm just back from Baton Rouge where I believe that I have discovered a completely FMV free Black Ischia fig!!!!!!!!! Still have some checking to do to verify. I took a shortcut suggested by my GPS through some neighborhoods and ran across this tree completely by accident. The fig goddess apparently was with me today.

No matter what this variety turns out to be, I can state emphatically that this large black fig is the best tasting fig I have ever eaten. Its flavor is better even than Col De Dame White......rich and very complex is the only way I know to describe it.  This is definitely a dessert quality fig.  I had no camera with me when I found the mother tree.....so no pictures of mom. Mom is about 15 feet tall and at least 20 feet wide. The owner does not like figs (what??) and gave me free access to his tree. I will be going back to this tree many times to conduct more in depth studies on this bad girl.

The tree was planted by the prior owner of his property. Ate a lot of figs that were off the chart good. Took summer cuttings and just now took some pictures of the leaves and some fruit that I brought home with me. This fig is rain tolerant, no bugs, can dry on the tree, fruits shortly after regular Celeste starts friuiting, some pink colored leaf stems, skin cracks but DOES NOT split, has different eye sizes......all blocked, fig stems are stout and purple, meat stain is purple, and honey from very ripe figs is purple in color.

Will post those pictures later and see what you believe this unknown cultivar to be............

Dan
Semper Fi-cus

Sounds like a fig every one will want.

grant
z5b

This is the kind of fig I have been hunting for quite some time. Funny, I found it when I was not really looking for it. The owner could care less about his fig tree. He doesn't like figs.....even this particular one which I give a perfect 10 on flavor.

I should have a few pictures posted in a few minutes. Will post pictures before I conduct a literature search for ID.

Dan
Semper Fi-cus.

Dan sounds like you had a great day. Its always fun for me to spot a new fig tree on the block let alone find something that seems as tasty as your describing. Anxiously waiting for pics lol.

Here is what this bad girl looks like. I'll get better pictures next time I visit the mother tree.

Dan
Semper Fi-cus

Great find Dan those figs look awesome, love the skin cracks on them figs I can only imagine how tasty they are. Dan does this fig also show redness on leaf stems?

Oops sorry just noticed the pic with the leafs showing normal coloured leaf stems.

Beautiful figs, Dan. However, a quick look at Condit's Monograph on page 426 says this " Bordeaux is similar to Ischia Black, but differs from it in leaf and fruit characters. Leaves of Ischia Black are small, nonlobed or 3-lobed, surface dull; those of Bordeaux are medium, 3- to 5-lobed, deeply cleft, surface glossy."
 
He goes on to describe it as " The tree is vigorous, upright in habit, with branches inclined to droop; terminal buds are reddish brown. Leaves similar to those of Ischia, medium to small; upper surface glossy, rugose; mostly 3-lobed, but often nonlobed; upper sinuses moderately deep and broad; base subcordate to truncate; margins coarsely crenate (plate 13). Description of fruit is from specimens maturing at Riverside and Fresno.
 
Breba 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.
 
Second-crop figs small to medium, oblique-pyriform to turbinate, with or without a short neck; average weight 30 grams; stalk up to 1/2 inch long; surface dull, bloom fairly heavy; white flecks scattered, finally masked by black body color; pulp strawberry; quality good."
 
Whether it is or not it still sounds delicious and worth having!

Yeah they look good, sign me up!!!!

Dominic,

This unknown is a LARGE fig. Is Kathleen Black a large fig? When does Kathleen Black fruit relative to a regular Celeste fruit time??

The neck stem is rather "thick" and reddish purple on many of these figs. That is how I remembered my Black Ischia figs from UCD. Can't seem to find that picture right now.  When this fig gets fully ripe the neck/stems tend to stay on the branch so you don't get to see those thick neck stems in these pictures. I have one fig positioned in the pictures below to where you can see what the neck/stem normally looks like BEFORE the fig fully ripens. I'm ruling out that this fig is Col De Dame Noire as it is a late season fig and this unknown is an early season fig.  This unknown fruits along with a regular Celeste fig.

Nelson, there were a few buds with pink/red coloration on the mother tree. FYI, pink coloration and red bud tips become much more apparent during cooler temperatures. It is hot as hades in Baton Rouge at this time of the year. I'll get better pictures next visit......


Dan
Semper Fi-cus

My first guess was Noire de Carombe http://vincentbey.perso.neuf.fr/NoireCaromb.html


Haha thank you Dan for explaining that I always wondering why that pink/red bud tips and leaf stems usually occured in early summer and towards fall. Funny Enough this is one of the key things I look for in dark figs not sure why but it is.

I'm sorry I can't add anymore.

negronne!

this fig has also this "being reddish" gene, leaf stems and nerves, fruit stems, BUDS, twigs and maybe something else.
does your found fig have red buds?

today I ate the one and only breba of my negronne. actually I forgot it and found it today dried on the tree.
very delicious!

This fig is definitely not a Violette Bourdeaux (AKA Beer's Black, or Negronne). This fig tastes much better IMO. VdB's are excellent tasting figs. However, this unkown is like a VdB on steroids. The fruit are larger in size than Black Mission. Kathleen black figs sure do look similar.....wish I had more pictures of of KB's stem/neck. This unknown does sound similar to what you posted Alan. On the side of the mother tree that is growin fast due to puning....the leaves are fingered somewhat llike a VdB. I have one of those leaves in the picture right next to the cuttings with those other leaf types. This fig colors well even in the shade.

It does indeed resemble Noire De Caromb.....maybe it is just how those two figs looks when ripen.  I have one of those in my collection too which hopefully will fruit for me one day. What makes me believe this one "might be" a BI (besides that look that I remember) is the outstanding flavor of this fig.

Dan
Semper Fi-cus

There are ripe Breba on my Kathleen black at this point in time.
Knowing that Dan,has a climate that is one month ahead of mine,in getting fruits ripe,yes it is possible that the main crop Kathleen black is getting ripe now in the deep south.
I do not care if it is Black Ischia or,Kathleen Black,I still would like to have cuttings out of this one to compare to my Kathleen black ,and see the difference.
In my opinion,the fruits are very similar to Kathleen Black but the leaves are a little different.
here is the pix of Kathleen black now ,here in NJ,inground:
But the difference in leaves shape could be atributed to other factors,climate age of tree etc.
I am 70 percent sure it is Kathleen black.
Edit Note:And Because Dan said that this fruits have a memorable taste and flavor,That tells me even more it is Kathleen Black.

dan,

leaf on bottom right corner of your first picture looks like most of my kathleen's black in a pot.

i have few leaves on the tree that looks like rest of the leaves in you picture.

it has not fruit for me yet to tell if fruit is same. but per east coast figs this thing tastes great.

pete

Sounds like you've made a really nice find Dan - whatever the variety. Those fruits look delicious!

I hope the owner will allow you to "help him" prune his tree this fall/winter :-) . If so, I hope you will be willing & able to make some of the cuttings available to us forum members.  I know I would happily pay for a couple cuttings & it would be a real treat to add this one to my growing collection.

It sounds like a great tree for all the right reasons. Please keep us updated with pics & info. I'm looking forward to hearing more about this one!

Thanks for posting!

alan,

my KB is from gene h. (east coast fig). i got it as rooted plan from him last sept..

Dan, you are the man!  Great find!  You sure are one fig hunter!  Would like to try growing one of those trees in my orchard.

Dan--what an exciting find! It looks like everything a fig ought to be--good luck with the ID and future propagation. It will be in high demand!

Black Beauty 10 may well turn out to be Katleen's Black. Time will tell.......
----------------------

This is the kind of fig I have been searching for in South Louisiana for quite a few years now. Immigrants have brought over some real good fig cultivars in my area over the years.  I knew that somebody somewhere is south Louisiana would have some awesome tasting unknown fig tree growing in their yard......and here she is!! I am very excited about this fig find.

What is so funny about this particular find is that the current owner does not care for figs at all.....no matter how rare the fig or how great they taste. Like I've stated, this tree produces the best figs I have ever tasted. To give some you some idea of how good the figs from this tree tastes. Here are some pf the figs that I grow and have tasted:

Black Beauty 10 tastes better than ALL of the LSU figs including Scott's Black, better than many different strains of regular Celeste, Black Mission, Col De Dame, VDB, Negronne, Black Celeste, Dark Portuguese, Sal's El, Gino's, Smith, St. Jerome, White Ischia, Native Black, Robin's Sicilian Black, Hunt, Sicilian Black, Italian Honey, Cajun Honey, Blue Bingo, JH Adriatic, Strawberry, White Triana, Green Greek, Black Triana, etc. 

This one needs to be passed around to people who can really appreciate a good fig. It will be called "Black Beauty 10" (Black Beauty for the looks and 10 for the flavor rating)  until we get a better ID on it.  To be fair, I will probably be selling a few cuttings from the mother tree on eBay in the fall and maybe a few plants in the spring.  I"m going to again visit the mother tree next week with my camera this time to get more pictures.

The leaf pattern varies on this tree....three and five lobes. It follows the typiecal fig leaf pattern characteristics that I have reported on in other threads. Namely that in the  pruned area where "faster leaf growing rates" occur......a higher number of lobes with greater definition appears (5 fingers). In areas where the leaves grow slower.....they are three lobed.

I am a fig researcher and have not sold either fig cuttings or fig plants. I do trade for cultivars that might do well in my hot humid climate.  However, this unknown fig is so good and has some real good growing and fruiting characteristics; that,  I will make an exception to that no sell practice. To be fair to all and to be sure it gets in the hands of people who truly appreciate a good fig......cuttings will go on an eBay auction. I will give notification to forum members when that auction occurs.

Dan
Semper Fi-cus

Hi Dan: Selling on internet this particular cultivar is a nobile cause,because when spreading out truly superior cultivars,one help the gardening world,and the humanity in general.
Spreading out bad cultivars,on the other hand,as sometime is done on the internet,is bad,for the world,good only for Seller.

It will be interesting to hear how 'Black Beauty 10' does in other parts of the country, and whether the exceptional taste is achieved on fairly young trees or requires several years to develop.

if dan says it's a great fig i believe it. don't really matter what BB10 turns out to be. what i'm curious about is how high the price will get to on ebay :)

pete