First, a point, then the question...

About the fig "Nero"... I understand that :

* The word "nero" translates to "black" in Italian. 
* It is also the name of the 5th Roman emperor, reigning in Italy from 54 AD to 68 AD.
* There are many Italian figs which use 'Nero' in the name (Brandisi Nero, Brogiotto Nero, Nero Caesar, Pissaluto Nero, etc.)

All three statements are tied to Italy in some way...

With that said, I have read that Nero and Barnissote are synonyms, and there is also a fig named Nero Barnissote in the F4F database.   Naturally, I am curious if anyone can share some clarification about these two or more figs and whether they are related.

I received some Barnisotte cuttings from UCD this year, and it looks like at least one cutting is transplanted and will make it.  I also purchased cuttings of Nero from Richard Watts' collection this year, which I have yet to begin attempting rooting.

I intend to compare the two, but I would love to have a "spoiler" of what I may find!

Nero does not = Barnisotte.

Do you remember off the top of your head where the synonym at the F4F variety database came from?  (this is the syn I'm talking about)

I think there is actually a mistake in the F4F variety database.  That 'barnisotte' is supposed to be 'barnisotte blanche'.

If you click that last link for "Barnisotte, then click the source (Ray Givan), look at his description of Barnisotte Blanche - it's the exact text you have for that entry.

I think the thumbnails for that entry may be incorrect, in light of Ray Givan's comments.

Also, if it's found there's a mistake, Nero links to that same Barnisotte:  http://figs4fun.com/Var_N_info.html#NERO

Interesting, the synonyms for Nero are Ischia Black, Brogiotto Nero, Barnisotte, etc.

Ah, fig confusion....

Brogiotto Nero is the Italian synonym for Barnisotte Black.  Bourjassotte Noire is the French synonym.  See Eisen and Condit for a lengthier list of synonyms.  Could be that Brogiotto Nero got shortened to Nero in some circles, but that probably happened for other Nero (black) figs as well.

Jason, see

Number 1

Number 2

Number 3

Number 4

Number 5

And if you want add more evidence or more confusion Google will keep you busy till fig season is over. ;-))

Not that I haven't screwed some things up when trying to compile the data at Figs 4 Fun, but I have made no attempt to evaluate the data and try to correct inconsistencies - only t provide the data as found so that you can draw your own conclusions. I will have to try this again sme day, but long ago I started with the name of the Green fig, and by working my way from synonym to synonym, proved that it was the same as a dark purple fig. Welcome to the fun part of figs.

My plant came labeled Nero Barnisotte. Any idea wich of the two it is?

The leaves do not look like UC Davis Barnissotte.

Hi Joe, I agree leaves do look different plant is also pretty infected with FMV hmmm hopefully Jon will remember wich one he sent me because he does have one listed as Nero Barnisotte.

My Barnisotte from UCD croaked. I had fingers crossed but no dice.

Mine died a long time ago.
But it fruited before dead.
And they were extraordinary good tasting and are also tolerant to rain.
The Problem is The FM virus it comes with,the strain of this virus,is very destructive for many cultivars that otherwise will be of very high quality..
If a clean healthy tree will be found somewhere in the world ,that will be a welcomed development.
hERE ARE PIXES TAKEN IN 2007,AND ALSO MY AVATAR IS bARNISOTTE FRUITS.
Ripe on Aug. 24/2007

Hi Vasile I agree this particular plant is plagued with fmv even showing fmv on immature fruits it is a pitty that a few of the extremely good tasting varieties have such bad cases of fmv. Hopefully one day someone will find a better strain that is fmv free im sure its out there somewhere.

http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g371/cmdrzog/IMG_0272.jpg

http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g371/cmdrzog/IMG_0271.jpg

UCD sourced Barnissotte . First fig just ripened. It was good.

Robert in my opinion thats a very fine looking UcDavis Barnisotte.
Whats your secret ?  ;  )

Hmmm, I have the Barnisotte on my cuttings list from UCD, so hopefully I will be successful with rooting and the plant survives.  The Barnisotte was actually one of the top 10 variants when I started researching. 

My tree was just as nice,older and better established ,and all of a sudden,one Spring it collapsed down to nothing,so That is how it goes when a plant got this problem.

I have one from uc davis that is finally getting healthy. I will post a photo later to compare.

UC Davis Barnissotte

Source = a cutting from UC Davis in 2010

The leaves are LARGE.  They have long lobes.  The leaves do not get a very dark shade of green.

Top View:

Side View:

This one started out in 2010 as a very strong grower.  Then one day last summer it just collapsed and appeared to be dead.  It slowly came back, but was a weak grower with lots of signs of FMV.  For about the last month it has been growing strong again.  Hopefully no more collapses.

Are there different strains of FMV or is it just that some plants are not able to hanlde it as well as others?

Fig mosaic virus,like many other viruses,mutate if they need to ,to fight whatever might be after to kill them(imune system,medicine etc).If they mutate in a very succesfull variant,then it will survive and suck the live out,of a plant or animal.
Their goal is to live on the back of other organism,not to kill that organism,but like any parasite,it will affect negative ,and the organism will not flourish as it should.
Of course In our eastern climatic condition,where the fig tree has to fight the long period of frost,or life in a pot,adding FMV,burden to the plant will sometimes lead to total demise,death of the plant.
So to your question:Are there more than one FMV kind,the answer is yes:
There can be at least one other mutated more damaging Fig mosaic virus,additional to the original FMV,known in the past.

Jason, I don't think they are the same fig.....that's just my opinion.  I have not tasted Nero YET!  But I have tasted Barnisotte at UCD.  Out of all the figs I ate at UCD.....Barnisotte, Zidi, Excel, St Jean, Black Ischia and Black Madeira were spot on in flavor, taste, texture and sweetness.  I kept coming back to those over and over again because they were so good.  And yes....I just had to bring some home for the wife to taste.  Here are few pics....keep in mind UCD has the fig wasp but I dont care!  Those figs were outstanding!  I have a lot more pics...but not enough time to process and post.  Cheers,

dennis - we would love to see the video you said you took.....

I got 5 or 6 videos on AVI.  I'm working on converting them then I'll upload them to YouTube. 

Doesn't YouTube auto-convert AVI on upload?