I've had this fig tree for about 4 yrs. This is the first year it has produced any number of figs. Maybe a 6/7 out of 10 in sweetness. Thanks so much for you help.

To me that's a Sicilian fig- possibly Sal's Corleone.  Most of my Italian/Sicilian originating figs have that typical leaf style and open eye.

Though the color of my Sicilian type figs i.e.- Black Weeping, Red Sicilian are more reddish, even black, the weather and this time of year can have an effect on skin coloration and pulp ripeness.

Looks like Sal's Corleone.

Thanks guys . The color is usually not that dark- more green with purple tinge - these few got dark for first time . Maybe because I've not left them on the tree long enough ! No real black on them .
I just bought a young Sal C from Herman and it will be interesting to see if they are indeed the same.
Thanks again..

There are quite a few Sicilian named varieties out there that seem to be very similar.  I have about 4 of them by different names and they are tending to be the same . They are not identical in looks but the taste is very, very close to one another.

Dominick what four varieties are those? I would like to get some really black figs so I'd rather not collect those that are too similar.

Those that are thought to be the same:

Sal's Corleone
Sicilian Red
Palermo Red
Weeping Black
Aldo
Pane e Vino Dark

Well, those were picked under-ripe, so they won't be purple!  I know they're underripe because I see white milk on the stems of some.  Sal C will break away the stem when properly ripe.  It is green like you see there.

Really, I agree on the Sal C - to give you a comparison, here is one I picked from my tree the other day.  It wasn't quite there, but .. damned rain had it splitting and I was trying to keep the fruit flies at bay.

Note:  One of these (the cracking one) was picked perfectly ripe.  The one with the void was underripe by about 3-5 days.

Jason thanks for this - I'm picking them way too early ! Those of yours are wonderfully ripe- I have to restrain myself LOL!!

I've been encapsulating each semi ripe fig in 4x6 organza pouch gift bags as someone (sorry don't remember who) suggested and it helps to keep the birds at bay. I just have to have more patience.


Dominick - thanks for that list . Figs are very confusing in names/types for me .

Note all those pics only show two different figs - if you look at the smaller list of pictures at the bottom of my post, the first four are one fig, and the last three are another.  They are about 4 days apart in ripeness, so, you see, 3-5 days means the difference between a fluid-filled reddish-purple fig and a halfway-hollow fig that's green on the top half with red stripes to the bottom. 

The first four are perfectly ripe, juice was running out of the eye.  The latter three are 3-5 days from actually being ripe.  The first ripped away from the stem easily and didn't milk at all, the latter had to be twisted off and milked from the stem when picked.

I have struggled to come up with a good way to explain when to pick figs - it's hard, because a lot are different.  My Sal C stick out sideways from the tree and hardly droop at all when ripe.  I guess the best method is maybe to cut or nick the stem in a couple places and see if it weeps milk.  If it does, there's a good chance it's not ready.  I only picked the first fig because it was running fluid out of the bottom (I didn't even think it was ripe).  I picked the second because it would've exploded with just one more hour on the tree.

Sal C splits with rain in my area, but it does taste pretty good.  I like Sal EL/Gene better, though... it is smaller, about half the size.

Jason that's a great explanation, thanks! I have lots to learn and I like the nicking the stem idea also. :-)