Can anyone provide me a history on the 2 Genovese Nero varieties.

History/story behind.  Differences of the varieties. etc. (flavor/color,origins, etc)

Thanks!

(I know there are tons of posts on this, but sometimes its just easier to ask again then to search through a bunch of lengthy threads)

great question. i take it you mean rob's version versus the real version

There is what I call the real version, which as far as I know came originally from a Canadian source. There are a handful of people who have it for sure.
I would not get mine unless it was offered to me by one of these individuals.
Then there are the other versions (at least three) which came from different sources.That's all I need to know. They could also be or not be Genovese figs but they are not what was meant by Genovese Nero.
Whomever came up with the name Genovese Nero probably meant only one variety. When you say black Italian, what does it mean?
The key is to know the original source then, there will be no room for confusion and no room for fraud.

From memory

Rob's Genovese Nero is called that because it was passed around as Genovese Nero before it was realized it was something else.

It appears to be a well regarded large fig. I believe Harvey was selling both.

Mike

THis is helpful concerning
origins...
but what about characteristics...


Are they both Large?

Colors...

etc.

mj, you will never get a definitive answer to this one. Some say there are 5 or 6 now. I have 2, one is known as Rob's, and produces large, excellent tasting brebas, and an average tasting main crop, IMO. The other, is the Rafed version, which produces exceptional main crop figs. Mine has not produced a breba crop yet, and I do not know if it will. Both were supposed to have come from Adriano, in Canada. A mix-up supposedly occurred along the line. As far as mine go, I consider Rob's to be a very good fig, the Rafed version a superior fig. I have no interest in getting any others, or worrying about who is right or wrong. Hope this helps.
Rob's GN breba
 
Genovese Nero main
 

Gary's pictures and the fact that Rafed's original cuttings died, Lead me to conclude that Rafed's second tree was a totally different variety.
If these photos are both of the main crop of both trees then this would put the matter to rest.

Sas, here are 2 pics of my Rob's main taken in late October, 2014.  
 

I bought some of Rob's cuttings from Marius last year, no fruit for a while.
This fig looks absolutely gorgeous. Thank you for posting.

It appears that the other one (Rafed's) has a totally different color.

Alan, Thank You for clarifying what you meant.

One comment to add to this.  There are two varieties in discussion and let's try to keep the naming convention correct:

Rob's Genovese Nero NOT
Genovese Nero AF (often referred to as Rafed's Version, but should use initials of Adriano who was the source)

I have send an air layered tree for comparison. Hopefully results are available by Fall.