My local fig friend Tam obtained this fig in DC suburbs of MD (Silver Spring) from a friend.  His friend purchased a house and the fig was already there.  The story (as I remember it) is that the previous owner brought a cutting from Portugal to start the tree. Tam gave me a rooted cutting from this tree in Spring of 2013 and am just now getting fruit.  There seems to be some similarity to Celeste but I'm not growing Celeste have only Celeste photos for comparison.  Tam does not seem to think it is Celeste but I am hoping maybe he will join this thread to give his opinion directly.  I think Tam lost his start of this tree in from the cold winter.  Anyway, please share your opinion - thanks.

I forgot to mention - the flavor is ok but not outstanding at this point.  Perhaps another year will make a difference.  I also could have waited longer before picking this fig though I think it is pretty close to being fully ripe.

It's a little over a year young so you are right, it may take a couple of years before it hits it best. You have a nice looking plant, the last photo tells me it is not afraid of putting on growth. Looks good, Steve. Tell Tam he is a good fig hunter.

Steve,

I would like to help and identify this fruit.
If it's from here, could probably be a fig from the North side of the country, not known in my District.
Only the people who actualy planted it years back or a close relation may bring some light on the question.
Some figs have a particular contour or size/colors which tell us a lot when identifying but this one looks rather standard....sorry.
Francisco

Thanks Francisco.  It may not be possible identify but I appreciate you looking into it.  Also those of you who grow Celeste, could you comment on whether or not it could be that variety?

Steve,
It looks exactly like Celeste, IMO.
The leaves and figs resemble a typical Celeste....

<edit> Note the differing leaf pictures that I posted in the attached link from the "Figs of the Day" Topic, http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=1279296626&postcount=33

Steve: Last year, I tasted a few figs from the Mother tree. I remembered that they had more pinkish red. They had a lot of figgy taste and they were very good. The favor was similar to a fig from Celeste. The leaf shapes of the mother tree looked very different from the leaf shapes of the other Celeste that I have seen so far. This morning, I used my energy to sense the energy field of the mother tree and I found out that it is another strain of Celeste. I recommend you to leave these figs stay on the tree a little longer, until they are partially dry, then they will taste similar to date palm. Thanks for sharing.

Best,
Tam

Ascpete, thanks for your comment.  I know you grow Celeste so your comment holds significant weight.

Petechanr, your Celeste leaves look similar but not the same.  Like your tree, what I see a lot on my tree is the three major lobes and then the two minor lobes close to the petiole to make five altogether.  However, very often on my tree the lobes end in points whereas most lobes on yours are rounded off.  The one exception is in the 4th pic where the leaf at the top of the image has points like those of my tree.  The fruit certainly looks very similar.

Tam, the flavor of the mother tree's fig being like Celeste is another clue - thanks.  You grow Celeste too so you should know.

So unless there are differing opinions from other members I'll consider this one a strain of Celeste.  Perhaps the Portuguese family who lived there had more than one tree - one from the old country as well as one they obtained here - a Celeste.

Steve: Last year, I saw a large Celeste tree growing in Silver Spring, Maryland. I stopped by and talked to the owner. She told me that her tree was about 8 years old last year 2013, now it is 9 years old in 2014. Her husband came from Portugal. About 9 years ago, they took a vacation to Portugal, they brought back with them the Portuguese Celeste Cuttings. I stopped by her house a few times last year, and each times I picked about 50-60 figs. They were sweet and had a lot of figgy taste. The following differences between her Portuguese Celeste tree and my Celeste trees and many other regular Celeste and Improved Celeste trees that I saw last year:

Portuguese Celeste:

1. The Figs are more larger.

2. More productive

3. Does not drop its crops

4. Healthy, does not have any disease

Last summer, the owner gave me a few cuttings from her tree, but I did not do a good job, all of my cuttings died.

Best,
Tam

Steve: This is another strain of Celeste. It is more productive and does not drop its crops. This tree is not the same tree as Mai's tree. It is another strain of the Portuguese Celeste trees that I have discovered so far. Thanks for sharing.

Best,
Tam

Tam, that's interesting.  The leaves on your friend's tree look very much like the ones on the tree I got from you (Mai's UNK). Your comment caused me to spend nearly 30 minutes researching the origin of Celeste, a very confusing subject.  Some say Malta Black is an ancestor of Celeste.  A synonym of Celeste is 'Malta'.  Thus it seems that Celeste may have originated from Malta.  (For some reason I had previously thought that it originated from fig breeding program here in the states but I guess I was wrong.)  Anyway, it is not hard to imagine that a Celeste strain could have found its way to Portugal and then be brought here by Portuguese immigrants.

Hi! Steve,

Thanks for your time in searching information about the Celeste. Maybe, Francisco can shine more light on the Portuguese Celeste. Thanks for sharing.

Best,
Tam

In late spring of last year, I saw many nice size brebas on Mai's tree. I remembered the breba figs had very long necks and their shapes looked like California Brown Turkey. At that time, I told the owner that her tree looked like a Brown Turkey tree.  I returned there in July to check them out, but I did not find any breba fig on the trees. I asked the owner she said maybe squirrels ate all of them. Thanks for sharing.

Best,
Tam

Thats celeste alright. I have blue, golden and dark celeste all are different but not by much same shape same eye, but different exterior color. golden and blue tend to be larger than dark but all live up to the name sugar fig.

Steve,

Friend from the eastern side of the District sent these late figs which
look similar to the ones on your # 1 post.
He was aware of my previous inquiry to try to find a close fruit..
It's a small old Common  variety, early ripener, very prolific, farmers used to grow for drying. Very sweet and figgy.
It's called 'Figo Rei'.. not to be confused with another fig with a similar name, mostly cultivated in the northern areas of Portugal
Cannot show leaves...too late, they are all gone now.

         

Francisco

Thanks, Lampo, for providing the additional information.  They do look like similar fruits if one imagines that they come from mature trees (and are thus a bit larger) as compared to my 1.5 year old tree.  I guess the other factor to consider is pollination.