Now the story behind the Corynth fig.
About 15 years ago my wife and I were dining at a local Greek restaurant, here in Albuquerque, called Mykonos.
We became good friends with the owner over time and started talking about figs one day. She told me that her father came to this country years back from the Island of Peloponnese, Greece. He was an avid gardener and brought with him, cuttings and starts of various fruit trees including his favorite fig. However, after he died, no one was tending after his trees any more. One day the owner gave me permission to take a few cuttings from her father's fig tree. It was in very bad shape but I managed to salvage a few good suckers and some sticks.
I grew the fig and discovered it was one of the most delicious white figs that I had ever tasted. I was so proud of this new find that I traded a few cuttings with the late Hanc Mathies for his infamous Atreano. He was also impressed by this fig and gave a tree to the Belleclare Nursery. I named this fig after the restaurant, "Mykonos" but Hanc renamed it "Corynth". The reason was because there was already a variety floating around by the name of Mykonos and he wanted this fig to have a unique Greek title.
The rest is history. I have shared this fig with many others over the years. Unfortunately I lost my Corynth to a bad freeze that we had one winter and never replaced it. I am happy to see it revived again because it reminds me of the Greek restaurant owner who shared it with me and their pet dog who kept wanting to play with me while I gathered up the cuttings that memorable day. It also reminds me of the friendship that I shared with Mr. Hanc Mathies, who thought that I was becoming a real fig nut! ...and I did!