Art, hope I'm not viewed as hijacking your thread.  From discussions I've had with various collectors, it seems that either Adriano's trees have different leaf leaf forms or something.  I've been told in detail the source of your tree and it seems good.  I also believe the source of my tree is good.  Another source sent me a photo (see below) of his tree obtained directly from Adriano and its leaves seem similar to mine.  Maybe we can swap cuttings and each grow the other version in our climates to compare the fruit.

 

Harvey, Not at all. I'd actually encourage the members to post some pictures for comparison.
My GN is almost like a Black Madeira or a Figo Preto on steroids. The leaf pattern is very similar, but the growth is like no other. Here are some more pictures to compare to. Does your GN have single lobed leaves? As far as the weight of the fig goes, I'm not sure. Here's one on the tree with a coin beside it.

I'll try to look later today but I believe all of the leaves on my tree have deeply-lobed leaves.  Size seems comparable to mine.  Growth has always been very vigorous on my trees.  Fruit was a bit later than expected this year but we did have quite a few cool spells.  Of course, I'm helping pick up 18,000' of 3" sprinkler pipe all day today so it's back in the 90s now, LOL.  Just came in for a quick lunch.

I am growing and comparing genovese's from 2 different sources- the first one is from a source that got it directly from Adriano and I have had it for 2 seasons and gotten figs both season. This tree has some leaves that are similar to the ones Art and Rafed posted but also some that are similar to the one Harvey posted in #77. Last year the figs looked similar to the ones Harvey has posted and this year they looked more similar to the one Art has posted. Also the leaves look somewhat different this year compared to last year. It does not 
have any single lobed leaves. I have photos of the tree and from a fig from last year that I am attaching, but no photos of figs yet this year- I have had several figs but not had a chance to take a photo. I will try to add some with the next ripe fig. I will also try to take some pictures of the leaves and post them. The second tree I have I got from Harvey this spring and the leaves are deeply lobed and match what he has shown for his before. I have not gotten any fruit off of this tree this year.
 
  

   

Zach, Is that a breba in your picture?

Hey Art, that is a main crop fig, I haven't and any breba's off of mine yet

Here are some photos of the leaves from the two trees: the first photo is from the leaf from the tree from Harvey- all the leaves look like this. The remaining three photos are from the other tree I have. There are a lot of different leaf shapes on the tree but these three seem to be the most representative.

 
 
 
 

A stupid question, perhaps:  I have a "Nero" fig -- is this the same cultivar?  How are they different?  My tree is young and I pulled the three baby figs off it this year to encourage more vigorous growth and branching, so I don't have a point of reference... the leaves look similiar.

WIth all the talk about mis-labeling on the nursery end, i guess Im paranoid :)

Ed, that isn't quite the same.  These different plants were all Genovese Nero that originated from Adriano's 1-3 generations ago.

This is what I've been told: Adriano received a cutting from a local friend and distributed cuttings/trees from his tree.  He later acquired his friend's mother tree and some cuttings/trees were distributed from that tree.

Hi Harvey - sorry if I was not clear, I was not responding to any question about the featured Genovese Nero (I don't have one and don't have the expertise to comment on the leaf shapes etc), but just to Native Sun's question about "Nero" (not Genovese Nero)  in the post above mine.

There is a "Nero" offered by Durio's and one offered by JF&E that I am aware of, possibly others as well, in addition to "Nero" from Jon Verdick.  It is unclear how any of these are related; they are most likely NOT the Genovese Nero. 

Next year when my plant is bigger I might post some leaves (and hopefully figs) and ask about similarities of all those.

In the mean time, waiting for cheap DNA analysis in the future... 

Harvey, I hadn't heard the background on Adriano's GN variety so thanks for sharing that.  Since there are some differences in leaf morphology from different GN plants floating around in the states, I wonder if the differences could be correlated to whether the trees were derived from the cutting that Adriano got initially vs. the cuttings taken from the mother tree later.  In other words could it be that cutting that Adriano started with  was taken from a branch that was actually a sport of the mother tree.  Just a thought.

Thanks -- it is the JF&E Nero I have questions about , since they were the source of my tree.  

Here are a few interesting pictures from last year. I got four cuttings from Rob and was able to grow three of them. One tree went to my parents, and I don't have pictures of it (maybe soon). The other two show interesting differences in leaf shape, though keep in mind these were first year cuttings. The first one shows the same leaf shapes as Harvey's tree, and has continued to do so this year (sorry no current pics, it dried out while I was out of town and dropped most of its leaves).
   

The second tree I traded last fall, but its leaves are more like Art's. Maybe its current owner can add recent pics...
     

If the figs on my tree don't drop and ripen, I'll add pictures of them. Thanks everyone for posting your pics, very interesting thread.

Rafed had asked me to check my plants for any different leaf forms.  Most are pretty much have five lobes, deeply lobed.  Here is a photo taken late this afternoon (leaf on the right is most common)




We've warmed up quite a bit in the past few days, getting more typical weather (today was 94F).  Picking quite a few fruits from my tree and taste is very good, more complex than a week ago but still not what I would consider acidic.  Skin is quite thin which would probably make transport difficult for these large fruits.  I'm guessing several approach 90 grams.  This is a very productive variety for me.

 

 

Robert, who I and some others purchased cuttings from, sent me a current photo of his tree yesterday.  He received his tree from Rafed.  Because of the harsh winter, Rob's tree had significant die-back but is growing back well.

Here are some pictures from my Genovese Nero. These are the two most dominant leaf shapes.

This is a pic of a fig I picked yesterday. I would have liked to leave it on another day, but i'm under attack by squirells



This is a picture from a few years ago of the leaves.

Here's three more that I just picked. They just don't disappoint. These are a 10+

Looks good, Art!  Marcus, who was the source for your tree, if you don't mind my asking?

Harvey, Do you think that most of the GN's that are floating around are from Rob?

Harvey, Does your GN have a similar taste to Preto & JH Adriatic. Mine is similar but more intense berry.

Harvey, I'll email you.

Art, some are from Rob and others are not.  For instance, I've recently seen a photo of a Genovese Nero that looks the same as mine which came from a very reliable source that did not involve Rob.  I cannot say more publicly.

I've only had two Preto figs and don't have JH Adriatic.  My Preto is on a small tree but still very good but I would say that I enjoy them equally but my Genovese Nero are, on average, twice the size as Preto but I'm quite certain my Genovese Nero have been caprified (probably the Preto also, though I don't remember placing caprifigs in those small trees.

Love threads like this one. :)

Rafed told me this is becoming a big headache. I told him it's an advetnure! LOL